An Uncertain Future
by moonchild-things
Summary: Delphia Odinsdottir is the Goddess of Virtue. While stopping petty fights between her brothers, sparing with her friends, and practicing with her mother, Delphia has visions of the future. However, her once boring, uneventful life as Princess is disrupted by one of the most disturbing visions she had ever seen. Which leads her to run into a patriotic captain in red, white and blue.
1. Visions

**A/N: Whoa... Here we are! A _Captain America: The First Avenger_ fanfic. Hehe, I'm super excited for this story and the ones that will follow it! I have big plans! This is the first in The Revival Universe and will be followed by many stories in the future. I'm so ecstatic! AHHH! The first chapter, I hope it isn't too bad. Let's get started!**

* * *

**THE GLITTERING GOLD PALACE OF ASGARD STOOD** proudly while surrounded by luscious greenery and beautiful architecture. Asgard was revered as one of the most beautiful realms in the universe and that was a fact. Asgard is home to a race of people called Asgardians. Asgardians have thrived off of the riches their wonderfully advanced home posses. Their lives are compared to those of Gods and Goddesses which is most likely why Midgardians believe them to be so. However, that could also be due to the fact that they have immense strength, the ability to use magic and can live incredibly long lives.

Asgard is ruled over by a family of royalty. The royal family of Asgard is admired in their world for the way they safeguard their people. Asgard, one out of the nine realms, is ruled over by the fearsome King Odin and, his wife, the gorgeous Queen Frigga. The King and Queen have three children who help keep the nine realms in order.

The eldest child and first son, who is next in line for the throne, is the arrogant Thor; God of Thunder. With shoulder-length golden locks, dazzling, bright blue eyes and a charming smile, Thor was undoubtedly a man of blunt force and strength. He was known for his drunken stupors and late night gatherings in the palace that kept all of Asgard awake. He was a very compulsive man who never asked questions before he acted which resulted in some difficult situations where he usually had to fight his way out. However, Thor is the chosen son, and he did not believe that his behavior was that any less than how a true proud prince would act.

The middle child and second son was the reserved Loki; God of Mischief. Despite his brother's beaming appearance, bright eyes and light colored hair, Loki looked to be the complete opposite. He had dark obsidian hair, that contradict that of the rest of his family, and narrow dark green eyes. Unlike his brother, Loki was not a very social person and tended to spend his time in the palace library reading or with his mother and sister practicing Seiðr. He lived up to his name as the God of Mischief by causing trouble through the tricks he would play on others.

The youngest child and only daughter was the innocent Delphia; Goddess of Virtue. Delphia was a girl who loved to socialize at her oldest brother's parties while also indulging herself in the extensive library with her other brother. However, despite her knack for interacting with others, her mother and father looked after her every waking moment. She had always been a girl of curiosity from a young age and because of that, her parents feared she would get hurt. If she was not within her own chambers then she was being watched by either her parents or the guards of their palace. Delphia was not like any other being on Asgard. She held an immeasurable amount of power that no other Asgardian possessed. For that, she was under constant surveillance. Even though under constant surveillance someone may feel trapped, Delphia didn't look at the downside of it, as she always looked on the bright side of every situation.

At the moment, Delphia sat perched on a stone bench in the courtyard of the magnificent palace. She hummed to herself as she wove a crown of flowers in her hand. It was made of different types of flowers that varied in sizes and colors. It was quite a spectacle to watch her handiwork as she made it look like childsplay. The blazing sun gazed down on her as she continued her work while two guards, dressed in golden armor, stood with their backs erect only a few feet from her like they usually did.

It is a normal occurrence to have at least two guards follow her around when she wandered off on her own. Her family was certain that she needed protection at all times, despite the fact that she had been trained by her father and brothers in the past and knew how to fight. She was actually quite decent when it came to fighting and could hold her own against any possible opponents. However, she didn't mind the guards. She enjoys everyone's company, even if they stood by her side silently.

Her humming halted as she smiled softly and didn't look up from her work, "I see you're back from your recent escapade."

A hearty laugh sounded from behind her, "you are never one to be snuck up on, sister."

Delphia shook her head fondly and finally halted her weaving to face her brother. Her smile nearly blinded Thor as soon as he saw it. "You cannot sneak up on a Völva, Thor! You should know that!" She giggled cheerfully, "I find it quite funny that you even think you can."

Thor's laughter boomed once again as he moved to join his sister on the stone bench. "I should remember that you seers never allow any of us to have our fun."

She scoffed at his comment that seemed to offend her, "I allow you to have your fun! I enjoy it when you throw your extravagant parties!" With that said she placed the flower crown she had been making on top of her head and continued to smile widely. The flowers rested on her head perfectly and complemented her long brown hair flawlessly.

"Yes, but I would enjoy scaring you as Loki does to me at times." Thor couldn't help but pout. His younger sister giggled childishly at his words and shook her head.

"Loki is a master of sorcery, playing tricks is his specialty."

"I find it unfair!"

"You find what unfair?" A velvety, smooth voice asked from behind the two. The two of them turned to find that it was their beautiful mother who stood behind them. With long, wavy ruby hair, porcelain-like skin and bold blue eyes, she was a vision. It was no wonder why she was the queen of Asgard.

"Thor does not appreciate Loki's tricks," Delphia giggled as her mother stood next to them. "He also does not like how he cannot sneak up on me."

Queen Frigga shook her head as she found her children's antics amusing. "I can imagine your frustrations, Thor." She couldn't help but chuckle. Her eldest son had always been one for physical strength, unlike her other children. Her youngest son always surrounded himself in books and focused on improving his skill in Seiðr. He was more focused on his intellect rather than his physic. Her only daughter was a mixture of both. She loved to socialize like Thor and was brilliant in combat, but she also loved to practice her magic and, from time to time, enjoys her solitude, like Loki. Frigga loved her children all the same, however. Despite all their differing qualities, she was proud of all three of them. "I did come out here for a reason, my children."

"You came to tell us that food will be served shortly," came Delphia's reply as she already knew why their mother had come out to fetch them.

Frigga smiled, "yes, my dear. Now come." The two younger Asgardians followed after their mother as she glided across the courtyard back inside the palace. Guards followed after them as they all started to make their way towards the dining hall. Pillars of gold surrounded them as they walked through the enormous halls of their home. Servants bowed to them respectively as they passed which they returned with kind smiles.

Hearty laughter bounced around the halls just outside the ginormous golden doors of the dining hall. Many friends, diplomats and guests of the royal family had already begun to eat the food that was presented to them. They gobbled down meats and fruits while also drowning themselves in elegant wine and strong alcohol. Stories of past adventures were tossed around the table as were jokes and gossip. It was a normal night in the Asgard palace.

When the three members of the royal family entered the busy dining hall loud cheers greeted them. Frigga bid her children farewell as she glided across the shiny floor towards her husband. Thor, after wishing his mother well, was quick to join in the laughter and bounded over to his friends where he was greeted with a large cup of ale and wide smiles.

Delphia sashayed around the room. She socialized with many of her friends, listened to stories from different warriors and started to eat some food. Soon enough she found herself sitting next to one of her best friends, Lady Sif.

"You should have joined us today for a spar!" Sif exclaimed loudly over all of the other chatter. "I had to fight the boys myself, and they posed no challenge today."

Delphia chuckled, "I'm sorry, mother wished to work with me this afternoon." She apologized as the warriors three were drawn to their conversation. "I have been having… fewer visions, recently, and mother wanted to make sure that they didn't disappear completely."

"Fewer visions?!" Volstagg asked in mock horror with his mouth full of food. "That sounds horrible! For what is a Völva without her visions?"

Fandral whacked Volstagg on the shoulder which knocked the goblet out of the red-haired man's hand, "don't joke about the Princess, Volstagg." He chastised before flashing Delphia a charming smile. Said woman rolled her eyes at the womanizer and shared an amused look with Lady Sif. It was known all over the kingdom that Fandral was the heartthrob of Asgard. Just about every woman swooned over the warrior at any time. It was also known that the man was pining after the Princess of Asgard. However, the Völva never reciprocated any emotions he had for her.

"It is strange," Hogun stated in confusion and wonder.

Delphia nodded her head with pursed lips, "yes, I would never have believed the possibility of my powers being dampened."

"If your powers have dissipated, then I suppose that means you have more time to fight with us!" Volstagg yelled happily. Delphia shook her head and gulped. She didn't want to lose her ability to see into the future. Of course, when she was younger, there were many times when her powers had scared her to the point where she wished for them to disappear. However, as time moved on, and she grew older, her powers had become apart of her and of who she is. To get rid of her powers meant getting rid of a part of her. Her powers as a seer might have proved to be a burden at times, but she had learned to carry the job as the last Völva in Asgard proudly. If she lost her powers, there would be no one else able to do it.

"As if she would spend her time fighting," a cold voice sneered. The group turned to find the second prince of Asgard standing behind his younger sister with a glare pointed towards the warriors. "If she were to lose her powers, which I doubt is a possibility, I'm positive she would not waste her time with such an activity."

"Don't be rude, Loki." Delphia gasped. She knew that her brother was not fond of Lady Sid and the warriors three, however, he tolerated them because both her and Thor were friends with them. "I would spend just as much time with you as I would with them." She turned back to the blank expressions of her friends as Loki rolled his eyes. "Don't roll your eyes, brother!"

The table chuckled with each other as Loki huffed, "I thought you were having fewer visions?"

"I am, I just know you, Loki."

* * *

The dinner in the palace had slowly died down as some guests left to retire to their homes. However, Thor and few other drunken Asgardians had decided to have their own small gathering and continued to drink as much as their stomachs would allow them. Delphia had grown tired and wished to retire to her chambers. She had bid her brothers and friends farewell before she left the hall. As usual, two guards trailed after her as she made her way through the halls, but they were halted.

"You two may go," Frigga told them as she approached, "I can bring my daughter to her chambers." The guards bowed in understanding before marching off somewhere else. Frigga looped her arms with Delphia and began to lead her off. "Do you feel better, my dear?" The concern that laced her voice was evident.

Delphia sighed, "better than I was this afternoon." She started, "my mind is clearer than before and my body does not ache when I walk."

Frigga tightened her arm around Delphia's, "I wish that you weren't in so much pain."

"It comes with the burden of being a Völva," Delphia shrugged.

Her mother shook her head and stopped both of them from walking, "not this sort of pain, Delphia." Her daughter stared at her with confused eyes, "there haven't been many Völvas in our history, however, the ones that have existed have never experienced what is happening to you." She moved a piece of Delphia's long chestnut hair behind her ear.

"What does that mean?"

"Your visions appear to be being reserving themselves and preparing for something."

Delphia paused and thought for a moment. She never thought of the lack of her vision could be caused by something like that. If anything, she believed that her powers were disappearing as she grew old, that she wasn't allowed to have them anymore and they were slowly being stripped away. "Preparing… for what, mother?"

"I do not know… but it must be for something of unmeasurable importance, and I'm sorry," Frigga held Delphia's cheeks with her hands, "but I fear you will go through even more pain than you already have."

Delphia stared at the worry that was etched on her face and began to worry herself. Earlier in the day, Delphia and her mother were trying to meditate and force her into a vision. Their plan was successful, however, the vision she had was distorted. It was if she was trapped inside of a nightmare instead of showing her the future. Once it was over, she was immediately brought to a team of healers who had to stop her seizures. It was excruciating to endure and if her powers were preparing for something far worse than what she has already been through… She didn't know how she was going to cope.

"I will be ready for it," Delphia declared after a moment of consideration, "if I am to endure such pain, then I will not fear it, but instead be ready for it. I was given the power of foresight for a reason, perhaps this is it."

Frigga smiled softly at her daughter, "you are a strong woman, Delphia. I know you will be ready for anything."

Delphia smiled at the faith her mother had in her and pulled away from her to yawn. "All of this talk of my powers has caused me to become weary, it seems." Delphia tried to jest.

Frigga chuckled and started to lead them both down the hall once again, "then I suggest we retire to our chambers."

* * *

The next day was just as beautiful as the day before while Asgardians went about their daily lives. Merchants opened up their shops for the day, guards stood rigidly at their posts and the royal family performed their royal duties. Delphia had just finished her meditation session with her mother and was ordered to take a break. She decided to clear her mind by taking a stroll through the courtyard in hopes that the scenery would distract her. They were unsuccessful in producing a vision for her, no matter how hard they tried. After what she and her mother spoke about the night before, Delphia was anxious to find out what her powers were preparing for.

She suspected it to be a vision itself. However, she feared that the vision was going to show her a devastating future. She didn't know if she could bare seeing it because if it was something terrible, she would want to stop it.

Delphia was a woman who valued live. To her, all forms of life were precious and everyone's life was important. If she were to even see a vision of death and the destruction of so many lives, it may break her. Especially if so many of those lives were innocent beings who had so much left to do in their lives. In the past her visions have been of minuscule things such as a random conversation or of weather, not many were of death. Even if they were, they were usually of people of old age in hospital beds who passed peacefully. She hadn't seen many gruesome deaths in her life.

"Why do you look so depressed, Delphia?" Loki asked as he approached his sister from behind. He dismissed the guards with a wave of his hand which caused them to bow and headed back into the palace. He had just finished speaking with his mother about Delphia's situation and had sought her out. Loki knew that he would be able to find her in the courtyard as she spent most of her time there.

Delphia turned around and tried to give her brother a smile. "I did not realize that I looked so sad," she jested. She didn't even know that her internal feelings had been displayed on her face. She was an open book to anyone and had a hard time hiding her feelings. Which was why she was the Goddess of Virtue and not the Goddess of Deception.

Loki studied her, "you didn't answer my question." Delphia sighed and looked away. "Are you saddened by the sudden disappearance of your powers?" He had noticed that his sister had become upset ever since it was discovered that her powers appeared to be disappearing. He didn't want her to be upset but there wasn't much that he could do to help her regain her powers.

"I only fear what it could mean."

Loki shot her a confused look as he fell in step with her. They had begun to stroll along the luscious courtyard as many of their loyal servants performed their duties around them. His mind began to wonder what she could have meant by that. There was a large possibility that she just feared losing her abilities because it was an enormous part of her life. However, from the tone of her voice, he felt as though that wasn't what she meant.

"Fear?"

Delphia nodded her head, "I spoke with mother last night, and she speculated what was happening with my powers." She took a shaky breath and closed her eyes briefly. "She suspects that my powers are preparing themselves for a vision that could be the most devastating one that I will ever have."

Loki hummed and considered what she said, and Delphia could feel his concern eyes burning into the side of her head. "And you fear what the vision could be?"

Delphia feared that immensely but would endure it to see what exactly it was. She wanted to know what possible horrible future was coming. However, it wasn't like she could do anything about it. She couldn't change what happened, nor could she warn anyone. She hated that part of her powers. She always felt helpless in that regard.

"Yes."

The siblings walked tensely with each other in silence as Delphia allowed Loki to take in the information. She didn't know how he was going to react to the news that she presented him. What if he made fun of her for her worries? What if he didn't think that what was happening to her wasn't as important as she thought it was? Then again, what if it really didn't mean anything?

"You have always been a strong person, Delphia." Loki finally commented after the moment of silence, and of Delphia worrying, passed. "I don't imagine you being defeated by what your powers might bring upon you."

The woman smiled brightly and latched onto her older brother's arm, "you believe so, Loki?"

"Oh, I know so!"

The two of them laughed with each other happily as they continued to walk. As long as her family had faith in her, Delphia was sure that she would face her powers head on. Whatever they would hurtle at her, she would not back down in the slightest.

Suddenly, Delphia felt a cold feeling tug at her chest as anxiety pooled in the bottom of her stomach. Her head felt as though it had been full of water and her limbs tingled.

She was having a vision.

Loki watched Delphia pause in her steps as her bright smile slipped off her face and her eyes glazed over. Her once hazel eyes became milky and as pale as a sheet while her breath hitched. Loki paused as well. It wasn't uncommon for his sister to have visions at random times instead of in her sleep or during meditations. However, he could see that this vision was different. She whimpered and Loki was at her side in an instant. He peered down at her and held her shoulders as she swayed on her feet. This was what she feared, he could tell. This is what her powers were preparing for, and he could tell that she was going to experience an unimaginable amount of pain.

He held her as she began to collapse to the ground while holding her head in pain. His eyes were wide in horror as she started to convulse and cry out. "Delphia! Calm down, Delphia! Can you hear me!" He worried over his sister as she gripped his arms tightly. He gently tried to lay her down on the grass as softly as he could. However, that proved to be a challenge as she shook violently.

She groaned. She felt as though a million needles were being shoved into her skin while someone hit her over the head with Mjolnir. She screamed, "All of those people!" She panted out as emotions and images flashed in her mind, "so many dead! The pain! All their pain! I can feel it all!"

Loki cradled her as others in the courtyard started to walk towards them in order to see what was the commotion. "Breath, Delphia!" He tried to speak softly over her cries and cradled her face between his own shaking hands. "Focus on my voice!"

It was as if she hadn't heard him as she continued to speak. "There are so many screaming!" Tears ran down her red cheeks as she sobbed loudly. Her eyes finally lost their misty color and focused on her brother as she cried even more. "I can hear their screams, Loki! They won't stop!"

"Sister, please!" Loki begged as he couldn't stand watching her like that. His own eyes started to glaze over with tears as he could only watch her convulse.

"They won't stop! They're so loud!"

"Guards! Help!" He called out desperately and looked for aid from anyone around them.

"It hurts!" She screamed which startled the servants who came to see what was happening. A group of royal guards rushed over to the members of the royal family quickly. Once they saw the Princess convulsing in the Prince's arms, they knew just where to bring her. One of the guards helped Loki lift the violently shaking girl and carried her away. They all ran through the doors of the palace in search of the nearest healer.

* * *

After Loki had gained help to bring his sister to the healers, Odin, Frigga, and Thor had immediately been informed about what had happened. The brothers were left to pace in the corridors while their parents were allowed to enter the healer's wing to check on Delphia. Her screams had died down slightly but every once and awhile they could hear her whimpers and cries from inside.

As soon as he arrived, Thor had demanded an explanation from Loki. Shaken slightly by the ordeal with his sister, Loki had told his older brother about what had happened. He detailed the conversation they had and the sudden vision she had been dragged into.

Now, Loki and Thor waited anxiously outside the doors leading to the room where the healers were working. It seemed that what Delphia had feared had come to pass. They could only hope that she would recover from it. They knew that she was a strong woman. There was no doubt in their minds that she would pull through the trauma. However, what affects the vision would leave on her were unknown to them.

"They have been in there long enough," Thor gruffly commented in irritation. He wanted to make sure that his sister was alright. He could not do that if a door separated them.

Loki halted his brother before he could bust through the doors and possibly interrupt the healing process. "Calm down, brother," he tried to sooth. He was just as worried about Delphia as Thor, however, he was willing to be more patient than the blond man. "We must wait for them to come to us with news, we cannot barge in there while they are in the middle of healing her."

Thor clenched his jaw but complied with his brother's words. He was far beyond worried for their little sister and wanted to make sure that she was alright. For now, he would wait just like Loki suggested.

"Fine."

Meanwhile, inside the healer's room, Delphia twitched as she laid on the healing table. Multiple healers used their magic hastily as they tried to stop her thrashing. She whimpered every couple of moments. Her words were barely understandable as she continued to mutter them through her spasms.

Her mother and father watched her in concern. Frigga held onto her husband and flinched each time Delphia yelled out in pain. She hated watching her only daughter suffer like that. Whenever she had helped Delphia practice controlling her visions there had been times where Frigga witnessed her daughter in pain. However, it was never to this extent.

Odin watched with a keen eye as the healers tried desperately to calm down his daughter. Despite everyone having a hard time figuring out what she was saying, Odin grew tense as he was able to make out what she was crying about.

"The infinite six will be joined!" Her voice cracked in desperation and the fear overwhelmed each of her words. Odin had a strong feeling that he already knew what his daughter was seeing, but he didn't know what to make of it, at least, completely.

She convulsed wildly for a moment longer before the healers were finally able to calm her down. It appeared that her vision had finally ended. She was far too exhausted from what she had witnessed to do anything else as she became still.

For a moment the room was silent, far too silent. Frigga had gasped when she didn't hear or see Delphia breathing. Her chest was still and her face was completely void of any emotion. The healers also thought that the young Princess had lost her battle against her vision and had grown quiet. They failed in their task of keeping the young woman alive. The room's atmosphere grew somber and grim. It appeared that they had lost the life of their beloved Delphia.

Though it only appeared that way.

Delphia let out a sharp gasp as her back arched against the stone table she was laying on. Everyone in the room allowed themselves to relax slightly, however, they all moved hastily to ensure that she was well. The healers bustled around the room and used everything they could to make sure that the young royal was stable. She laid on the stone table with her eyes lidded as she took shaky, shallow breaths. Only after a moment did she allow her eyes to slide shut and to fall asleep.

Frigga sighed in relief as the arms of her husband tightened around her as he too was comforted by the fact their daughter was sable. The vision she had was definitely one that involved a horrible premonition of the future. They could only hope that she would soon become conscious after a while so they could confirm that she was alright. For now, they could only watch with uneasiness as the healers continued to fuss over Delphia's unconscious body.

* * *

The news about the princess' wellbeing had spread quite fast throughout Asgard. As suspected, all of the Asgardians began to worry over their beloved princess. She had fallen asleep and had yet to wake up after three days. Her skin had become pale while her hair surrounded her like a dark, still ocean. She had become deathly still. The only movement that was visible was the subtle rise and fall of her chest.

Her family had waited to the best of their ability for Delphia to wake up. Odin and Frigga had each been patient with her recovery. They spent their time visiting her when they could for only a few minutes before returning to their royal duties. It wasn't that they weren't worried about their daughter, they had responsibilities to attend to which took time away from their opportunity to check on Delphia.

Her brothers had been far more restless when compared to their parents. Loki was willing to wait and let her rest, however, he missed her every moment she was asleep. He missed getting to sit with her in the library as they enjoyed each others company silently. He missed walking around the palace courtyard with her. He even missed listening to her scolding words as she reprimanded him for his tricks.

Thor, on the other hand, had demanded that the healers try to wake her up themselves. Not only had he ignored the healer's explanations that it would only harm her further if they did that, but he also had shouted at his brother to try and help as well. He accused Loki of not wanting to help their little sister, that he didn't care whether or not she recovered fully. Of course, Loki had been offended by his remarks but allowed them to pass. Loki knew that they were all affected by Delphia's state. He couldn't fault Thor for his behavior, at least, entirely.

The brothers had made sure to avoid each other. Especially after the two had an argument over Delphia's condition. Thor had delved himself deep into his sparing with Lady Sif and the Warrior Three and worked on his combat. Loki had locked himself away in the palace library and focused on his practice with Seiðr. The brothers may have not gotten along completely before but for the past three days, they've been far more emotional than before. All they wanted was for Delphia to wake up. She was the glue that kept them together and, without her, their sibling bond was suffering.

On the fourth day of her comatose state, Delphia was lying on the silky, soft sheets of her bed. She had been moved into her enormous, luxurious room after the healers were certain she was in a stable condition. All they could do was make sure that she was comfortable when she actually woke up.

As normal, Asgard was bathed in the bright light of the sun which caused it to shine brightly. However, under the shimmering display of the realm, there was still a slight sense of melancholy in the air due to the fact that Princess Delphia had yet to awaken. Everyone within the godly realm had been holding bated breath in anxiety and hoped for her recovery.

At Delphia's bedside, Frigga sat on a chair while holding her daughter's hand. Frigga had just finished dealing with a few minor issues concerning a few servants that had to be attended to before she had arrived at her daughter's chambers. She was fretful for the health of her youngest child and only daughter. Though she knew that Delphia would pull through as she was strong.

Standing next to his mother, Loki stared at the unmoving figure of his younger sister with his iris' swimming in anxiety. He had postponed his studies and practice for a short time in order to see his sister. Loki had decided to visit his sister to see if there was any sign of her waking up but there was still no indication of her stirring from her sleep. His entire being had been gripped by fear for the last few days as many other people. He feared she would never wake up. He feared that if she did wake up she would be permanently damaged because of her traumatic reaction to the vision she had seen. He feared what exactly she had seen.

His family had spoken on a few occasions to try and understand what Delphia's vision may have been. They obviously couldn't guess exactly what it was she had seen, however, they could only speculate that it was of something horrific. Could it be a war? If so, where was it? Who was involved? Or was it of something else? Was it of Ragnarok? Had she seen the death of all of their people and the destruction of their home? Nobody was sure…

"Delphia is strong, Loki," Frigga commented as she seemingly felt the turmoil swirling within her son's mind. "She will wake up."

Loki sighed, "I know that she is. Whatever it was that she had seen is no doubt extremely traumatic."

"Yes, but all we can do is wait," Frigga commented as she brushed a lock of hair from Delphia's forehead. Loki nodded his head in agreement. The mother and son fell into an uneasy silence as they gazed on the young woman who was peacefully sleeping. The swirl of emotions, hope, and uncertainty, moved around within the both of them over the safety of Delphia.

Suddenly a sharp gasp broke the moment of silence as Delphia's eyes snapped open. Her hazel eyes were blown wide open as the bright rays from the sun blinded her for a few moments. She swallowed thickly and took in her surroundings. Loki and Frigga were at her side in an instant. They began to fuss over her as she tried to understand what was happening.

It had only taken four days, but their princess had finally woken up! The worry that was thick throughout the realm could finally be subdued as Delphia was now laying on her bed conscious. Her mother and brother had sent for a healer while they made sure that the young woman was comfortable in her bed. Many questions were shot at her like arrows that could pierce her skin and leave a gruesome mark. She may have been conscious but not enough to comprehend every word that was spoken to her. She needed a moment to collect herself. The healers noticed this and urged the royal family to be patient for Delphia to recover completely.

Of course, the family obliged (Thor did begrudgingly) and only spoke soothing words of comfort and relief. As the king and queen occasionally had to leave to attend to certain duties and Thor had some friends to see, Loki didn't leave his sister's side. Why had he not left her side? Could it be that he was just extremely worried about his sister to the point where he would not let her leave his sight? Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he was there to witness her digression into a screaming mess. The fact that his sister was screaming in agony as he held her shook him to his core. He was unable to ease her pain in the slightest. Even if he had used Seiðr to try and subdue some of the pain, his attempts would have been in vain. No matter how many times he had tried, Delphia's visions would not be affected by any sort of magic, much to Loki's dismay. He wanted to make sure that his baby sister was safe and cared for. He could not achieve that goal if she constantly had visions that caused her pain, anguish, and nightmares.

On several occasions, Delphia had to be reminded that she was finally out of her horrendous vision. There were some points in the first few hours of her waking up that Loki had to soothe her as she cried about all the death and destruction she saw. It broke his heart to see Delphia so torn up about something that had yet to happen.

* * *

Delphia cradled a bowl of piping hot soup in her hands as she delicately ate the food. The healers and her family had finally stopped fussing over her so much and allowed her to have some alone time. Some time had passed since she had woke from the terrifying vision she had seen. She was unsure just how much time had passed as time started to blur for her. Perhaps it was a few hours? Then again she had woken up in the afternoon and now it was morning… She must have woken up a day or so ago. She could only blame her vision for causing her confusion.

She shivered at even the thought of the terror she had seen and felt. The fact that she wasn't able to really tell anyone what was to happen made it all the more bitter for her. She was unable to confide in anyone about all of the people she had seen dying all over the realm. Every time she closed her eyes she could see the brightly colored six stones that shined powerfully as they seemingly taunted her. She could also clearly see the sickening smile of the Mad Titan. Oh, the future she saw… was one she wished wouldn't come to pass. For once, she wished that her vision was completely wrong and all she saw was a twisted nightmare.

Her hands trembled as her mind was consumed once again with the images of people seemingly turning into dust. She could still see their ashes drifting on the wind as they disappeared from existence. Her ears started to ring with the screams of confusion and agony as they infiltrated her thoughts and took over her being. Her breathing picked up again as her hands shook harder. She was unable to keep hold of the bowl as it slipped from her hands and clattered to the ground.

Her frail body was racked with tremors as she started to sob. Hundreds of images flashed in her mind and behind her eyelids when she desperately tried to get rid of the flashes. She was completely enamored by the images that she didn't notice Thor had come bursting through the doors of her bedroom and over to her bedside.

He was on his way to meet Lady Sif and the Warrior three when he heard screams and cries from his sister's chambers. He had instantly rushed to her room in great haste and threw open the doors to find Delphia shaking uncontrollably while she cried out. He gazed frantically at his young sister as she clutched onto her bed with strength that could rival his own.

"Delphia?" He shouted out and gripped her shoulders tightly in order to try and stop her shaking. "Calm down, sister!" He shouted over her cries and shushed her with comforting words. He hated seeing his dear sister suffering so much. "Shh, calm down." It was strange to see the mighty Thor acting so soft towards anyone. However, it was well known that Thor, like many other people, held Delphia close to his heart. Due to her being so innocent and pure, Thor had a strong belief that it was his duty as a brother and prince to shield her from the evil in the world. Though that proved to be hard when Thor was unable to protect her from her own mind and magic.

Delphia started to focus on her older brother's voice as she tried to draw herself from her mind. It proved to be a slightly harder challenge than she thought, but she managed with Thor's help. After the two made sure that Delphia was calm enough and could breathe normally, Thor instantly brought her into a hug. Delphia snuggled into Thor's chest and closed her eyes in exhaustion.

"I am alright," Delphia let a sigh after she took a deep breath. "I am sorry if I… startled you, Thor."

Thor shook his head and tried to smile softly, "you did not startle me."

Delphia shook her head and gulped, "I feel like such a burden with all of my fussing."

The fact that she thought she was a problem for anyone baffled him immensely. How could she think that she was even close to being a burden to anyone? He did admire that about his sister, however. She was far too humble for her own good! He could barely count the number of times she had put the needs of others before herself. She had done that all of her life ever since she was a child. She made it clear that she wanted everyone to be put before her. She would rather have everyone be comfortable before she was. That aspect of her also forced her to try and see the good in just about everyone.

"You aren't a burden, sister. If anything, we are all happy to help you recover!"

Delphia nodded her head as a grateful smile slowly crawled onto her face, "thank you, Thor." As she continued to smile at her brother they soon dived into a long conversation. Thor retold stories of his spars between his friends and hunts that he had gone on. Delphia loved to hear the stories of triumph and victory that Thor always told. She knew that speaking of battle and hunting made him happy and she always wanted to see him, along with anyone else, happy. Especially with the terrible visions, she always had. A thought began to creep into her mind. Her bright, fond, appreciative smile dipped into an expression of concentration. Once Thor had finished telling a hilarious story about a fight between Lady Sif and Fandral she interjected, "would you mind finding father for me?"

Thor smiled at his sister as he didn't notice her slightly troubled expression. His blue eyes crinkled in the corners due to how large his smile was as he hopped off of her silky bed. "I will find him for you." With that declaration, Thor sauntered out of the room and left Delphia by herself.

Her anxiety was getting the better of her. The devastation she saw was haunting her in the silence of her room. Oh, the screams of innocent people as they watched themselves turn to dust hurt her so much! How could she lay in her bed and do nothing as something as catastrophic as that would happen to so many people? How could she sit in her golden palace as the flesh and bone of so many people were soon to become nothing but ash?

She was consumed by her thoughts and her plans that she barely noticed the doors of her room reopen. Odin stood in the doorway along with his eldest son and could see the uneasy expression on his daughter's face. "Delphia?" Her head snapped up to look at her father. He could see the hollow look in her eyes as they lacked the spark they once held. He had a feeling that she wished to talk to him about her vision. He turned to his son, "Thor, do you mind allowing me to speak with Delphia in private?"

Thor looked between the two of them with a smile as he still hadn't seen the unsettling look that was on his sister's face. He nodded his head, "yes, father." He flashes his sister one final smile before turning away and walking down the hall, no doubt headed outside for a spar.

As soon as Thor had left the two alone, Odin walked over to Delphia's bed and sat down in the spot that Thor had sat in a few moments ago. He reached out his wrinkled hands to hold one of her own and squeezed it as he saw how haunted she seemed to be. Delphia appreciated the comfort he tried to give her but she sighed. "You seem troubled, my dear."

Delphia took a deep breath and nodded her head, "y-yes, I am."

"Tell me what is bothering you."

She sighed and looked away from her father and bit her lip, "my visions…" She wasn't able to finish her thought as her body shivered. Odin nodded his head in understanding. He knew that the future she saw was one that would haunt her for a long time. She referred to the 'infinite six' in her hysteric state a few days ago. He knew what that meant and it was something that he feared Delphia being involved with. "I am… t-terrified by what I saw…"

"Shh…" Odin hushed as he pulled Delphia into an embrace. "I can not imagine what horrors you saw, Delphia."

"I know I can not tell you what I saw, but you must believe me, father," she hesitated slightly with her next statement, "I can not stay here." Odin's eyes widened slightly at her proclamation. What did she mean that she couldn't stay? "The vision I saw father was… horrible and I saw what leads to it. I must leave…" She saw what happened. Not only the end result but also the actions that lead up to it. In order to make sure that the foretold future, that was set in stone, happened according to what she witnessed, she had to leave Asgard.

"Where would you go, my child?" Odin was slightly worried by what his daughter was trying to explain to him. As long as Delphia had lived, she never left Asgard. She was always under the supervision of either her family or a pair of guards. To think that she had to leave… Odin never wanted to imagine her even setting foot in the Bifrost.

Delphia could hear the uncertainty in her father's voice and she gripped his hand tightly. She also didn't like the thought of leaving her family behind, but she had to! "To Midgard." The silence the hung in the air after she told her father the news was suffocating. She could see the opposition Odin had to her decision and she was quick to try and explain further. "Father, my vision showed me events that had to take place. I don't know everything, but I know enough to believe that I must leave and go to Midgard. It is the only explanation for what I saw!"

She saw herself on Midgard, in her vision. She looked far different from how she did at that moment and could tell that she had been through a lot. She saw an older version of herself on a flying contraption that was no doubt constructed by the Midgardians. She saw herself surrounded by so many extraordinary people who she didn't doubt would become her friends in the future. She saw herself do things that she didn't imagine herself doing now. Delphia knew that she had to leave in order to make sure that that future came to pass. She didn't want to leave her family… but she could not argue with her visions. No matter how much she wished she could…

Odin sighed, "are you certain, Delphia?"

She nodded her head firmly, "I am." Her eyes hardened in determination though there was an underlining of uncertainty that decorated her irises. "It will only be for a short time, I am sure of it." She licked her lips, "but I have to leave, father, I am sorry."

* * *

"Father, you can not allow her to do this!" Thor's enraged voice carried through the air sharply. He and Loki were following their father, mother, and sister as they hurried through the palace to their horses. Delphia had explained to her mother what was happening and her plans of leaving. Of course, Frigga was not happy with the thought of her daughter being on her own, but she knew not to argue with Delphia and her visions. The three of them had sought out their horses to head to the Bifrost only to run into the princes.

Despite being in somewhat of a rush, Odin was able to explain what was happening to his two sons. After he had finished his explanation, both men were opposed to the idea of their baby sister leaving their home to venture to Midgard on her own. Loki was a tad bit more understanding on why she had to do it, but he still didn't like it! Thor was beyond understanding. All his life, he and Loki were tasked with making sure that Delphia was always looked after. Now to think that they were just going to let her go on her own to a place she had never set foot in was absurd!

"This has to happen, Thor." Delphia's soft voice explained to him. Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears as she tried to get her brother to understand. "I need to leave."

Thor huffed as he didn't want to lash out at his sister as he was very agitated. He wanted to hold onto Delphia and not let her go. "Why? Because your silly visions say so!?"

"Hold your tongue, Thor!" Odin exclaimed in exasperation. He turned to his son as they reached the archway of the palace entrance. "Your sister has made her decision based on something that is out of her control!" His voice was low and held a warning, "you must respect what she is doing, even if you disagree with it."

Thor's jaw clenched as he and his father glared at each other. He turned his eyes away from Odin to look at Delphia who was being held in their mother's arms. Thor sighed in defeat and looked away. He was ashamed of his actions for yelling at them. He didn't want to see Delphia leave so suddenly… but he didn't have a say in the matter as it was Delphia's choice. Thor nodded his head mutely as he came to terms with the fact that Delphia would leave.

Delphia rushed out of her mother's arms and threw herself at Thor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried herself into his chest. She wanted to make sure that he knew she would miss him. "I am sorry, T-Thor."

He exhaled and held onto her just as tightly, "it is alright, Delphia."

Once the two had let go, Delphia jumped to Loki and embraced him as well. "I-I will miss you both so much!"

Loki hugged her tightly, "It is alright, sister, we will see each other again." His voice was hopeful as he didn't want to think that Delphia would be stuck on Midgard for an eternity while the rest of their family stayed in Asgard.

Delphia flashed him a watery smile as she let go of him, "Yes, we will…" With that said, the princes watched as their mother, father, and sister mounted their horses and started to ride off in the direction of the Bifrost.

Loki placed a hand on Thor's shoulder in order to try and calm his older brother down. He could see the frustration radiating off of him due to their sister leaving. "She will be fine, Thor."

Thor huffed and turned to his brother with a hard stare before looking off in the direction that the rest of their family had gone, "she will." They could only continue to watch as the three royal family members continued to ride their horses further away before disappearing from their sight.

* * *

Three horses galloped quickly across the rainbow bridge as the sun began to set in the distance. Delphia, Odin, and Frigga all rode their own horses towards the Bifrost in order send Delphia off to Midgard. At the entrance of the Bifrost stood the ever seeing guard of the Bifrost, Heimdall. He bowed his head when the king, queen, and princess finally came to a stop in front of him and dismounted their steeds. "Your majesty," he greeted the king accordingly.

Odin nodded his head in greeting, "I suspect you know why we are here." It wasn't so much of a question but instead a statement as he already knew Heimdall knew they were coming. Heimdall could see everyone and everything in all nine realms. If someone so much as whispered in another realm, Heimdall would know exactly what they said.

He turned his gaze to the young goddess who hugged herself around her middle. He nodded his head in confirmation as his golden eyes surveyed the family. "Yes, I do." He leads them into the Bifrost and walked up to the platform where his sword could be placed. The three royal family members watched as Heimdall placed his sword into the pedestal and twisted it. Colors burst in front of them as the Bifrost was open and ready for Delphia's departure. Said girl took a deep breath and turned to her mother and father.

"I will return at a later time, until then, I will stay in Midgard."

The older Asgardians nodded their heads in understanding. Frigga was the first to pull Delphia into a tight hug as she whispered her goodbyes to her only daughter and warned her to stay safe while she resided in Midgard. Delphia promised to look after herself and to come back safe. Odin then embraced his daughter and did the same, though he was able to mask his tears, unlike his wife who had started to cry.

Delphia said her final goodbyes to her parents and nodded to Heimdall in goodbye as well. Heimdall returned the gesture with a kind smile. Delphia had known the guard her entire life as Heimdall was practically like a third brother to her. She mustered up enough courage and turned to stare at the barrage of colors that flew in front of her. Without any second thoughts, Delphia walked through the portal and allowed the Bifrost to whisk her away and towards Midgard.

* * *

Delphia landed with a thud on the snowy ground that chilled her to the bone. She cursed herself for not wearing something warmer as she was still dressed in a thin light blue gown with short sleeves. Though she had no idea where she would have landed on Midgard, so she couldn't have known that she would have needed to change clothing. Heimdall could have at least told where in Midgard she was going!

Cold wind whipped her brown hair back and forth as icy flakes invaded her personal space. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to warm herself up. She surveyed her surroundings and squinted against the wind. She could barely see two inches in front of her due to the snow and darkness that surrounded her. If she didn't find some sort of shelter soon…

She could hear the sound of snow crunching under some weight and an unusual humming that Delphia couldn't quite place. Blinding lights emerged from out of the thick clouds of snow which caused Delphia to shield her eyes.

Before the machine could hit the poor, clueless woman, it came to a stop only a few feet from her. Delphia strained her eyes to see the doors of the machine open as someone climbed out of the metal contraption. She had never seen something like it before, however, it did resemble something that she had seen in the books about Midgard. She recalled them to be called 'cars'. She knew they were a piece of technology that Midgardians had created some time ago, as Delphia had always been fascinated by what Midgardians could really create.

The man who exited the car slowly crept through the snowy scenery and walked towards the woman who tried to keep herself warm. "Hallo?" A heavily accented voice asked as he approached Delphia. She barely had enough time to register who had approached her when she froze on her spot. She didn't freeze due to the cold but instead from the glimpse of who was approaching her. As soon as she saw the narrow face of the man, she couldn't stop her eyes from glazing over as she collapsed to the ground. Before she could hit the ground, the man had quickly rushed to catch her.

He watched as the woman in his arms convulsed and whimpered under her breath. He studied her closely. She did not wear the proper attire for the frigid weather at all. She also was not speaking German, but instead English. To him, it was obvious that the mysterious woman was not from the area. Although as soon as he heard one specific word from her, his eyes widened. "Tesseract," she had muttered. He made quick work of gathering the woman in his arms and placing her into his car. This mysterious woman who seemingly appeared in the middle of the road out of thin air knew something of the Tesseract, an object that he had been searching for for a long time. Perhaps she knew about it...

He climbed into the driver seat of the car and gazed at the young woman who had finally stopped her spasm but was still unconscious. Johann Schmidt smirked as he started the car up once again and started to drive towards his destination.

He could tell that whoever this woman was she was going to be very valuable to his search of the Tesseract.

* * *

**A/N: OH NO! Poor Delphia! I feel like I didn't do too well on this chapter, but I'll get back into the swing of things with the next few. Especially the ones that come later one, specifically chapter three and onward. **

**I would really appreciate some feedback on this chapter. Did you enjoy the chapter? What are you're thoughts on Delphia? I'd like to know. Until the next chapter, my friends! **


	2. Captive

**Berlin, German**

**1940**

**"I MUST INSIST THAT I CHECK ON **her," Dr. Abraham Erskine followed Johann Schmidt through the corridors of their testing facility. It was only mere hours ago that the leader of Hydra had marched into their facility with a woman in his arms. Johann had instantly brought the woman to a secluded room where she now rested, still unconscious. As soon as he had heard that Johann had brought a possibly wounded woman into the building, Abraham wanted to see her immediately. He was still slightly hazing on what her conditions were, but he wanted to make sure that she was still living! "I wish to make sure that this woman is in a stable condition."

Johann continued to march down the hallway and barely looked at Abraham. Dr. Erskine had been working with Hydra for a short time and proved to annoy Johann quite a bit. He opposed Johann with every decision he made and even laughed at his goal of trying to find the Tesseract. However, now that Johann had this woman, who he was certain would lead him to the Tesseract, there was no way that the doctor could ignore the fact that the Tesseract was out there somewhere. Especially now that his mysterious woman knew about it.

"I can assure you, Dr. Erskine, she is perfectly fine and is being supervised," Johann explained in a monotone voice. "If there are any changes in her condition then we will know."

Abraham still shook his head, "I still want to see her."

Johann stopped in the middle of the corridor and stared at the other scientist. His stare was calculating and hard. He desperately wanted to prove the doctor wrong, but he also didn't want to allow him to see the woman. The unnamed woman was _his_ discovery! And if she proved to be vital to his search for the Tesseract, then he didn't want anyone else getting involved.

"Just let me take a look at her," Abraham continued to plead, "it will only take a few minutes."

Johann puckered his lips and glared at the older man, "you have five minutes with her…" He started to walk down the corridor again. Abraham was hot on his heels as satisfaction and relief washed over his face. He didn't think that Johann was going to agree to let him see the woman, but he was relieved that Johann was at least permitting him to see her.

Johann begrudgingly leads the doctor to a door that opened to reveal a small room. It contained a few pieces of technology that were being used to monitor the poor woman who rested on a bed in the middle of the room. "Five minutes," Johann instructed before allowing Abraham to enter the room and closing the door roughly.

As soon as the door closed, Abraham set off to work quickly and diligently. He found a few medical instruments around the room and started to check her over. He could not find any bruises on her body along with no signs of internal damage. He quickly started to speculate if something was wrong with her head. Perhaps she had hit her head? She may have a concussion. However, he couldn't really find any signs of that either. He also tried many times to wake her up only to fail.

However, he decided to see if he could run any tests on her. He pulled out a needle and delicately stuck it into her pale arm. He was worried that it was far too easy for him to find a vein as they decorated her skin predominantly. Abraham was worried that the woman was slowly dying. He knew that the cold also didn't help her situation as well.

Once he was done collecting a few needles of blood, he searched for some blankets and wrapped them around the unconscious woman. He watched the woman for a moment and studied her. She was such a pretty girl. He had no idea why she was found on the outskirts of the city with unsuitable clothes for the cold and who fell unconscious. She looked like an angel. He was just glad that she was at least living.

The door opened abruptly and Abraham turned to look at Johann and a pair of soldiers flanking him. Johann glared at Abraham before turning his gaze to the unconscious woman who was now covered in blankets. "Have you finished your assessment?"

Abraham nodded his head and started to collect his bearings, "yes, yes. I do wish to run a few tests, however."

Johann's eyes narrowed, but he did not object to the idea, "fine."

With that, Johann turned and left the room while the two soldiers followed obediently behind him. Abraham cast one final glance at the young woman who laid still and silent on the table before he too left the room. He quickly walked through the corridor towards his lab. He needed to start the blood tests as soon as possible. He needed to find out _why_ she seemed to have fallen into a catatonic state.

* * *

"Captain… Captain…" Delphia's weak voice repeated over and over again. Her eyes moved rapidly underneath her eyelids as it seemed she was having a very immersive dream. Abraham watched with pursed lips as she took shuttered breaths. Her condition had improved as she showed signs of getting better. She constantly muttered certain words in her sleep and her skin had started to regain its normal color. As she appeared to grow better, Abraham noticed that she seemed to have an aura surrounding her and reminded him of an unearthly being. She had the looks of a beautiful creature that could only be found in Heaven. 'An angel' he had once called her. However, he wished he knew her true name. He could only wait to ask her when she woke up.

"Good morning, Angel," he greeted the woman as she continued to mutter under her breath as if she would respond back to him. Her dainty fingers twitched every once and a while as if she was trying to wake up or perhaps to reach out to something.

Whenever Abraham wasn't working on the super-soldier serum, he had used his downtime to visit her. It had been only two days since she had been brought to the facility and Abraham was glad to say that he had been working hard to make sure that she was healthy.

At the moment, Abraham held a few files in his hands and a box that held two glass vials of blood that Abraham had taken from her the first day that she arrived. He had finally finished his tests on her blood. He ran every test he could think of in order to figure out what was wrong with her. He had yet to read the results and felt that it was only appropriate to look at it with her. Even if she wasn't really awake to hear the results.

"I've come to see you about your results." He explained and sat in the chair that was right next to the table she was laying on. He got himself comfy and pulled out the correct files. "Let's take a look, shall we." He opened up the file and started to sort through the papers. He skimmed the words on the results. After a few minutes, his eyes flickered to the woman on the table with a wave of curiosity and wonder washed over him. "How peculiar."

He turned back to the papers and started to rifle through them quickly. The results were beyond peculiar! It was as if she wasn't even human! Abraham gulped as he let the revelation settle in his chest. If this woman wasn't human… and Johann was adamant that she would help him find the Tesseract… then there was no telling what lengths Johann would go to get her to help him. He had to hide these results and forge others quickly. He was completely intrigued by who the woman was and _what_ she was, but he would let his curiosities die before he allowed any harm to befall to the mysterious woman.

"It seems you are a far bigger mystery than I thought, my dear." He mumbled to himself as he started to collect his things. He had to start on the false documents right away, for Johann was waiting to see the results himself. Abraham had to be quick. He stared at the woman a moment longer and brushed a piece of hair that rested on her face. "I'll only be a moment."

He scurried out of the room and looked down both ends of the hall to make sure that no unwanted soldiers or scientists saw him. Once he made sure that no one saw him, he closed the door to the small room and started to make his way down the hall. He weaved throughout the lines of soldiers that marched in black uniforms while making sure that he kept the files close to his chest. He didn't want someone to see them and report to Johann about his findings.

Abraham was only a few meters away from the entrance of his lab when a hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped slightly at the sudden intrusion of his personal space and sucked in a breath when he saw who had stopped him from the corner of his eye… it was Johann. He stiffened and slowly turned to the man who stared him down with narrowed eyes.

"Dr. Erskine, I heard that the results have come in," Johann's sick, cold voice surrounded Abraham like smoke as he could feel his breath catch itself in panic. He turned to meet the steel-like eyes of the man who held out his hands expectantly. "I wish to see them, now."

Abraham gripped the folders that were in his hands tightly as he stared at the menacing man in front of him harshly. "The results that I have are incorrect, the equipment must be faulty." He tried to come up with an excuse, "I was just about to rerun the test to make sure that the results came out correctly."

With a calculating stare, Johann looked over the jumpy scientist who seemed to desperately want to get away from his predatory like gaze. His glare shifted over to the papers and files that were clenched in Abraham's arms. Obviously, they were the results to the mysterious woman's tests that the Doctor was adamant about running on her. Despite arguing so much with the scientist, Johann at least agreed with Abraham on the idea of testing the woman. If she was important to his search for the legendary Tesseract then he wanted to be certain if she was any different from a human being. He hoped that she was like the beings that lived in the heavenly land of Asgard.

Perhaps then he would finally get his hands on the Tesseract to help with not only Hydra's success but also Hitler's ultimate goals.

"May I see them?" The skeptical that flooded his eyes was evident to Abraham. He was certain that the man could see through his lies quite clearly.

He tried to plaster a smile on his face, "well, I insist that it would be a waste of time to read these silly reports!"

Johann shook his head and tutted, "no, no I believe I do want to see them, to be thorough, of course."

Abraham gulped and held onto the files tighter, "these files are incorrect-"

"Dr. Erskine, let me see the report."

Before he could protest once again, the files were ripped from Abraham's hands by a soldier who had snuck up behind him. He squeaked and tried to reach for them again, but Johann's glare caused him to halt in his movements. Johann took the files from the outstretched hand of the loyal soldier and began to look through them.

After only reading a few words, Johann began to smile. It was unsettling to watch as the sick, twisted grin stretched across his lips as he took in the information that the files provided him. He simply finished reading the results, tucked the papers back into the folder neatly, and handed them to the soldier. He shot daggers at Abraham with his heated glare. How dare he try to hide the results of the tests on the mysterious woman from him! Now there could be a possibility that the report _was_ incorrect. However, from the fact that the results were completely abnormal and from Abraham's reluctance to give the results to him, Johann was certain that the results were most likely not wrong.

"It seems like you were trying to hide these results Dr." Johann sneered with his lip pulled back to show off his perfectly straight teeth.

Abraham stuttered, "n-no, I-I-"

He was cut off when Johann raised a hand to stop any possible excuse that the older man may have and glared at him. "You should know, Dr., that I do not appreciate being lied to." His eyes pierced the older man's skin with hatred that caused Abraham to shrink back, frightened.

With that said, Abraham could only watch as Johann walked off with the files in hand. Dread pooled in his gut as the situation weighed down on his mind… Johann was going to do everything he could to wake up the poor woman in order to get the answers he needs… Abraham took a shuttered breath and bowed his head in defeat.

* * *

**Berlin, German**

**1941**

Screams bounced off the metal walls of the long corridor that was decorated with Hydra banners and soldiers who stood rigid against the walls. The screams were constant and not an abnormal occurrence to hear. For the past year, the pained, terror-filled screams always drifted through the air like a cold wind. It was a far too common occurrence to hear the poor woman's screams nearly every minute of every day.

Electricity surged through every one of her nerve ends and lit them on fire to the point where she almost felt numb. Though She was used to this pain. For a year, she had been locked up in a small room, barely fed, and tortured to what the scientists thought was near death. It wasn't like the tools and technology that the Midgardians use was really able to kill a being such as herself, but that didn't mean they couldn't try. It also didn't mean that they knew what she was and that their torture devices couldn't kill her.

Every day she was greeted with the same few scientists in the morning who would check her vitals, make sure that she was healthy enough, and run their tests on her. Of crouse, she never left the small grey-walled cage that had become her new home. People came to her when they wanted to test her or question her. At the moment, one of those scientists had come to do the latter.

Johann held down a switch that activated a generator that delivered a painful amount of electricity into the defenseless woman. He did not flinch at her cries and wails as he stared at her with narrowed eyes. Finally, he let up on the electricity and only let a small amount to surge through the wires that were connected to the woman laid out on a metal table. There was only a small surge of electricity that he wanted to inflict on her to remind her that she was helpless.

"Come now, dear girl," Johann stated earnestly as he came to stand next to the table and stared down at the brunette. "If you wish for the pain to stop," he moved a strand of sweaty, tangled hair from her face in an… affectionate manner. "All you have to do is tell me what I'd like to know."

Delphia just stared at him with lidded eyes that rested above purple bags the showed her exhaustion. The spark of curiosity and excitement that once swam in her hazel eyes were gone. They had disappeared the moment the first prick of the cold metal of a needle penetrated her skin. Her breath was shallow and strained as her chest barely moved. It was always the same routine nearly every day!

Johann or some other scientist would come into the cramp, sterile room and run tests on her. They varied in all sorts of ways. There were the blood tests, scans, brain activity monitors, and strength tests. Of course, after those series of tests that she was constantly tasked with, Johann would then come to see her. He would go on and on about his mission on finding the sacred Tesseract. Oh, the number of times she had heard him urge her to tell him where he could find the precious _tesseract_. She had heard him preach about the power that he could possess if he got his hands on the ultimate power source. But she wouldn't budge. Johann was then given the pleasure of hearing her screams every time she refused to cooperate with him.

Delphia would never allow a horrible man such as him to get hold of the tesseract. Not only would she not allow it, she also had no idea where it really was! The Tesseract was lost years ago and is believed to be on Midgard, but no one could really be certain. For all she knew, Johann was torturing her for an object that could be in a different realm, completely out of his reach.

Though she won't deny that she saw these events taking place. She saw it. In her visions, she had seen herself screaming in agony as a man with pasty skin and beady, narrow eyes watched her in satisfaction. The pain that she felt from the torture with the many tools that the Midgardian had was not as bad as the pain she had felt in her visions, however. Which she thanked Odin for that fact. But the pain still left her a near-empty husk of the beautiful woman she was before. Such a shame…

She panted heavily as she watched with empty eyes as Johann continued to glare at her. She was the key to finding the tesseract, he was sure of it! She was an unearthly being who no doubt was a goddess. Of course, the scientists and himself had researched every inch of myth, lore, and ancient text they could get their bloodied hands on and had only recently came to a conclusion on who she was. It had warped all of their minds to even think that a goddess had fallen to the Earth and right into their hands. Not just that but the daughter of Odin himself. If she couldn't produce a location for the tesseract, then there would be no hope for them to ever really find it.

"You are making this far more difficult than it has to be, dear Delphia…"

Delphia sighed out shakily and closed her eyes in defiance. She would never tell a hateful man such as Johann Schmidt where he could find one of the most powerful objects in the universe. She didn't want to imagine what he would do with that power. Who he would hurt was a vast variety of people that Delphia knew he would take great pleasure in harming.

Johann grunted unhappily. It was disappointing to see that this woman was unwilling to give him the information that he needed. To think, he had treated her with the utmost hospitality when she had first arrived. He had practically nursed here back to health himself to see her safe. She wouldn't even return the favor and give him even a small sliver of information. So he only saw it fit that he punish her for her ungrateful attitude.

He shrugged his shoulders, indifferently, "I suppose we can end it here then. We'll continue our… conversation tomorrow, my goddess." He stroked her head once again which caused her to flinch at his touch.

She could hear his shoes beating down on the pristine, cold floor, the door opening and shutting harshly, and his faint voice from outside as he ordered some soldiers to guard the door. She didn't see the need for any guards to make sure that she didn't leave. Yes, she is an Asgardian and has a large amount of strength when compared to the Midgardians but that didn't really matter. They kept her heavily sedated and she rarely was ever able to keep herself awake due to the medications they gave her. She was helpless and weak and it felt as though they had stripped her own identity from her.

The Völva hadn't had any more visions since she had first arrived on Midgard due to the medicine. She did have one that lasted another three days as soon as she landed on Midgard but after that, there were no more. She wished that she could have at least one vision. She knew that she survived this ordeal, but she was desperate to know _when_ she did. True, she never knew when her vision took place in the universe. However, she could sometime pinpoint when it may happen with at least a small margin of error. But she was really good at making guesses.

Her tired ears were greeted with the sound of the door opening again and quick footsteps moved across the floor. They were rushed and light which was completely contradictory to those of Johann's or a few of the other's who were permitted into the room. Delphia opened her eyes in curiosity to see who had decided to come into her small cell that they were no doubt not allowed in.

As soon as she opened her eyes she came face to face with the kind, concerned face of Dr. Abraham Erskine. The man was the kindest to Delphia. Unlike the other scientists who looked at her as a subject they could poke, prod and torture, or the men who looked at her like she was a piece of meat that they could ravish, Abraham looked at her like she was a person. Every once and a while, he would sneak her extra food and water whenever she was in dire need of it. He would give her medical treatment for burns and cuts when needed. Though he couldn't do it all the time because Johann had forbidden him for seeing her until he had some sort of progress with the super soldier serum.

Abraham gazed on Delphia's body as she shook slightly in an attempt to see him better. He quickly rushed to her side and held her hand tightly in both of his. "Oh, angel…" He sighed out pitifully as he could see the pain that she was in. He rummaged through his briefcase and pulled out a few bandages that he would use to wrap up the minimal open wounds that she had.

He made quick work of bandaging up her arms and legs before he stroke her cheek with a soft smile. Of course, his smile was slightly strained and Delphia could see the concern, determination, and fright swarming in his aged eyes. "Abraham…" Her voice was weak and scratchy which caused her to cough harshly.

He shushed her, "Calm down, Angel. We don't have much time." He moved over to the different machines that lined the walls of the small room and started to push buttons, turn dials and unplugs cords.

Delphia strained her neck to see what exactly what he was doing. "Time?"

Abraham glanced at her for a moment before continuing on with his work. "Johann has gone mad with all of this work and I fear we are in far more danger than before."

Delphia tried to snort in amusement before relaxing her neck once again on the cold table. She knew that Johann had been mad with his search long before she ever came upon Hydra. Abraham continued to ignore the woman for a moment longer as he worked on the machines to disconnect her from them. Soon enough, the machines shut down and Delphia was finally able to take a deep breath once the dull throb of electricity finally stopped.

Abraham made quick work of unstrapping Delphia from the table and helped her sit up. She grunted in discomfort slightly and allowed the man to pull her over the table. She stumbled slightly when she was placed on her feet and leaned on Abraham for strength.

"What are we doing, Dr.?"

Abraham glanced at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to stable her. "We're leaving."

Delphia's eyes were wide as he started to pull her on her feet. "L-leaving? Dr., what do you-" He shushed her as he pulled her through the corridor. Surprisingly, there were no soldiers or guards standing in the corridor like Delphia knew there should be. A group of soldiers dressed in all black and hints of red marched down the corridor in the opposite direction of the two and answered her question about where they all were. Once they finally disappeared, Abraham continued to drag Delphia in hopes of finding the exit. "Where are we going?"

Abraham licked his lips while they made their way through the halls. "At the moment, I'm unsure, but I must get you away from here." He couldn't bear to see the woman hurt any longer. He needed to get her far away from this pain and torture. Abraham also couldn't continue to work for Hydra and creating the super soldier serum that Johann wanted. The serum alone would give Johann an all-powerful army that no one would be able to stop. The old doctor couldn't let that happen.

She swallowed dryly, "and if we're caught…?"

They both knew what would happen if they were caught. Delphia would be locked up once again and subjected to even more tests and harsher punishments. Abraham would no doubt be killed for what he tried to do if they were caught. So they had to make sure that they were not found. Of course, Delphia was slightly hesitant with Abraham's plan to escape as she didn't want the kind man to be killed for his attempt at trying to get her away. However, Abraham was more than willing to help her which was obvious by the way he practically dragged her around the compound quickly.

He had already given a solution that he had put together for the super serum to Johann. He knew that it would not work at all and had no intention of fixing it and producing the correct formula for the tyrant.

The two of them stumbled through the long corridors and avoided any sign of soldiers. Abraham gave the tripping woman encouraging words to help her drag her feet quicker across the clean floors. Their quick footsteps were barely heard over the sounds of marching boots and blaring alarms.

The corridors were soon painted in red lights as they flashed in alarm. It was quite obvious that whatever distraction that Abraham had devised to distract everyone had been forgotten about and the disappearance of their most prized subject had been discovered. Of course, that didn't matter. Abraham and Delphia were able to make it out of the building quite quickly and to the awaiting car, the doctor had set just outside.

He placed Delphia in the old looking car before scurrying over to the driver side. Johann had just burst out of the doors that the two had previously emerged from with a malicious glare. Brandishing a pistol and soldiers at his sides, the enraged man shot wildly at the two in the car as they started to drive erratically away from the building. The furious leader barked out orders in his harsh German voice and commanded the soldiers to go after the runaways.

However, Abraham and Delphia were distancing themselves from those who were scrambling to follow them. The young-looking woman gave out a shaky breath as she watched the building that had held her hostage, tortured her and caused her pain for over a year became smaller on the horizon as they continued to drive.

Soon enough, the building became nothing more than a speck as the snowy environment swallowed it whole. Abraham let out a deep breath. They were finally free but they had to be quick and find somewhere safe far away from Hydra… America seemed to be a logical destination. He glanced at Delphia from the corner of his eye. "you should rest, Angel." The woman looked over at him, "we have a long journey ahead of us."

Delphia nodded her head slowly as she tried to get comfortable in the car. She let her eyes slide closed instantly and soon enough she allowed her exhaustion to smother her into sleep.

* * *

The long trip to America was somewhat troubled. The pair had ran into Hydra once again and were nearly captured if it wasn't for Abraham's quick thinking, Delphia's strength and seiðr. They avoided the searching eyes of Johann and his loyal soldiers to the best of their abilities. Soon enough, Abraham was able to get two tickets to America before they could be found. It had taken him some time and money to do it but it was obviously worth it. If it meant getting himself and Delphia away from Hydra and the horrors the terror organization subjected them to, he was willing to go to any lengths to get them far away.

It took them a few days to even get out of the country. With the help of some kind people, Abraham was able to get himself and Delphia onto a plane towards the land of the free. Delphia had become far more relaxed after they had left the country and were on a plane. She allowed herself to sleep on the plane ride when she realized that they were safe for the time being. For the longest time, she didn't believe that she would ever get to say that. Though now that she and Abraham were on their way to America she was sure that they would be safe for some time.

However, Delphia knew that they would not be safe for long… She saw it. The result of Abraham's serum would be very successful and Delphia saw that Hydra would try once again to get her and Abraham back. For now, she would let herself forget about the pain that she had suffered and let herself think about the joyful, bright future that she saw in her vision.

When the plane landed after hours of flying, Abraham and Delphia stood in front of the busy airport. Bystanders rushed past them in order to make it to their planes on time. Delphia had never been around so many Midgardians at one point. She so used to only ever see the small cell and its four bland walls that the colors and sights of the airport had startled her. Though the bombardment of colors and new places were well received. If she had to be truthful, she was never certain if she would actually get out of that hellish place and escape Hydra.

Since she hadn't had any visions since she first had arrived in Midgard, she didn't have much hope of ever getting out of there. She suspected that the reason that she didn't have any visions of the future was due to the stress and pain that her body and mind had gone through while held captive. Though that didn't matter now. She was free. All thanks to the aging man who stood next to her with a wide, relieved smile as they waited for a taxi, she recalled what he had called it.

"What will we do from here, Dr.?" Her soft voice asked.

Abraham looked over to her with warm eyes and an encouraging smile. He knew that it would be a challenge for her to get used to the norms of a life outside of Hydra and on Earth, but he knew that she would pull through. Despite being nothing but a test subject for the past year, Delphia had proved to be strong to an extent. Her spirit had been broken but whenever he was able to slip into her room to check on her she always questioned him on his well-being. She always put the worries of others before her own, he thought.

The old man sighed out heavily, "I suppose we must find a place to stay for a short while, then you can go home, Angel." He thought that she would be more than willing to go back to her glittering gold home that was untouched by humans as soon as she was well enough. "I will continue with my work, the Americans will certainly like to know of my serum and perhaps they can use it in the war."

Delphia nodded her head as her long, knotted hair swayed in the wind as an air of uneasiness. She bites her lip, "if it is alright with you," Abraham stared at her, "I would like to help you with your serum."

Abraham tilted his head with furrowed eyebrows, "don't you want to go home?"

The blonde woman nodded her head, "of course, I do! However, I feel like I need to repay you for what you have done."

"There is no need-"

Delphia raised her boney hand to cut him off, "I want to help you, Dr." She flashed him a kind smile, "please allow me to repay you for your heroism."

It took Abraham a few moments to make a decision but as soon as he did it, he knew that he wouldn't regret taking the goddess on as an assistant to his project. He knew that she may not know too much about science and Midgard in general. However, he knew that she could help him in a few different ways. She was kind, resilient, and honest. He thought she seemed perfect for an assistant to help him.

With their decisions made, the two travelers worked their way through the U.S. government. It had taken some time and effort but the Asgardian Princess and German Scientist were able to get a decent standing and allowed to help the U.S. and British Army's with their efforts to stop Hitler and Hydra. One year had passed since she and Abraham had gotten away from Hydra and to America. They had both worked to achieve the standing that they had in the allied powers and were excited to finally implement the serum for the war.

They had taken residence in New York where they were looking for the perfect candidate for their experiment. Abraham had been working tiredly to find a _good man_ and not a _soldier_. He had shared his sentiments with Delphia on who they needed for a subject of the serum. Delphia knew that they needed someone of high virtue. And seeing as she was known in many realms as the Goddess of Virtue, she seemed to be the perfect person to find a possible candidate.

Now that the stress of experiments had been lifted off of her, Delphia had started to get visions once again. She was more than glad to find that she was no longer seeing any sort of heart-wrenching, devastating futures. She didn't see any more death or destruction during her meditation or while she slept. She only saw simple things once again. For example, she had seen Abraham working on some work, herself exploring New York and the marvelous Stark Expo.

Which is why she was here. She stood in a modest white dress that reached a few inches below her knees and sleeves that reached her elbows. They ultimately covered up the scars that littered her body to any prying eyes who stared at her in awe. She was a beautiful woman and was getting quite a few longing looks from many of men around the expo. She stood just outside the enlistment building with her arms wrapped around her middle and her cherry-colored lips pulled in a polite smile that was directed to anyone who passed her.

Abraham and she were in need of a subject for the serum. And she had a strong feeling that she would find the perfect man at the expo. Just as she had that thought, a short, skinny man with blonde hair, and a pair of the brightest blue eyes that she had ever seen walked up to the building with a strong aura of righteousness. She didn't know who he was, but she could tell that he was _perfect_. Her eyes lit up in a way that they had not shone in such a long time. Yes, she was certain that that man was who was going to help them end this Midgardian war against the tyrant Hitler and his loyal, bloodthirst follower, Johann Schmidt.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, boy. I feel so bad for Delphia and what she had to go through but at least Abraham helped her out! Yay! He will certainly become a father figure to Delphia in the future. I can't wait to write more about that. The first meeting between Delphia and Steve is coming up and I really hope that you guys are as excited to get into the movie as much as me.**

**I know I haven't updated any of my stories in a while, and I apologize for that. But you know how life can be and such. Doesn't help that school is starting back up! AHHH! Anyway, talk in the next chapter my lovely readers. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think of this story or any of my other ones.**


	3. A Chance

**A/N: WOO! It's been a while since I updated this story, huh? School has been hectic now that exams are starting up, and don't even get me started on senior project! Anyway, now that this chapter is done, I'm sure I can start rolling out more and more of these. Also, now that Foxy is almost finished I can focus on this story and my other ones! YAY! Hope this chapter is okay!**

* * *

**Tønsberg, Norway**

**1942**

**LOUD GUNSHOTS COULD BE HEARD IN THE** small town of Tønsberg, Norway. The townspeople did their best to stay hidden as troops brandishing many different weapons marched across the cobblestone roads. A single logo plastered on nearly every side of their large machinery. It was distinctly the logo of Hydra.

A young man ran across a courtyard towards a church with speeds that could rival an Olympic runner. A gun was slung over his back and swayed with each swift step he made. The rumble of the oncoming vehicles of Hydra's soldiers shook the ground as the man bursts through the wooden door of the church.

When the door opened the young man was greeted with the solemn, wrinkled face of the tower keeper. The younger man, Jan, caught his breath in deep pants and spoke breathlessly in his native tongue, "they have come for it!"

The ancient tower keeper's withered expression stayed the same as he came down the stone stairs, "they have before."

Jan shook his head and gulped loudly, "not like this."

The older man's expression didn't falter as he held a determination in his ancient eyes. "Let them come. They will never find it."

Just as he said that a loud rumble approached the building and started to shake the ground. The candle holds around them and chandelier about swayed from side to side and threatened to fall over. Before they could react the stone wall burst open and was broken into many pieces. Dust fogged up the room once the robust wall came crashing down and littered the floor in chunks of stone. The old man leaned down and lifted a piece of stone to find the young man dead underneath it.

A large tank made room for a group of soldiers to march into the room and instantly made their way to the stone tomb that sat in the middle of the room. They hastily started to work together to push the lid off of the stone as their superior shouted at them.

"Open it!" The Lieutenant order the group of men who did their best to try and pry open the stone grave as fast as they could. "Quickly, before he…" His commands died on his tongue as the man himself, their leader, climbed over the rubble towards them. The menacing man waltzed his way over to them across the pile of stone. The man wore all black which made it quite difficult to pinpoint him in the pitch black of night. Black gloves adorned his hands as he wore a black trench coat that had the familiar pin of Hydra on his lapel. His narrow, long face was set hard in a glare as he looked down at the old man who laid on the ground.

"It has taken me a long time to find this place," Johann observed the church that was now covered in rubble and dust. The soldiers around him seemed to shake in their boots at his presence and it was obvious that Johann is a very intimidating man. "You should be commended. Help him up." The soldiers pulled the older man onto his feet. "I think that you are a man of great vision. And in this way, we are much alike."

"I am nothing like you," the older man denied harshly.

Johann nodded his head, "No, of course. But what others see as superstition, you and I know to be a science."

"What you seek is just a legend."

Johann countered him quickly, "then why make such an effort to conceal it?" He took off his hat and walked over to the grave that the soldiers were having a tough time opening. With little to no effort, Johann pushed the cover off like it weighed nothing. He revealed a skeleton covered in cobwebs and maggots that clutched a light blue cube in its boney hands. He pulled the cube out of the dead man's grasp and examined it carefully, "the Tesseract was the jewel of Odin's treasure room." He turned to the old man and dropped the cube that broke into pieces once it hit the ground. "It's not something one buries. But I think it is close, yes?"

"I cannot help you," The tower keeper denied.

"No. But maybe you can help your village." Johann started to threaten, "you must have some friends out there. Some… some little grandchildren perhaps. I have no need for them to die." The mechanical sound of the tank outside turning its cannons towards the village filled with innocent lives caused the older man's heart to race. Johann was willing to kill this village over something a simple as a cube. Over something that he had been on the search for a very long time. The old man stood his ground and said nothing. Johann was indifferent to whether or not the old man would help him or not in order to save his village. Johann would get what he wanted, no matter how many people died. The Hydra leader noticed a carving in one of the church's walls, "Yggdrasil. Tree of the world. Guardian of wisdom and fate, also." He approached it and surveyed it with a keen eye. He then noticed the eye of a snake seemed to resemble that of a button. He pressed it and a small compartment opened up. The tower keeper's heart sank as he knew the sick man had gotten what he wanted. Johan opened up the box and allowed the bright blue glow from his prize to paint his face. "And the Führer digs for trinkets in the desert." He looked up at the distressed man, "you have never seen this, have you?"

The tower Keeper shook his head, "It's not for the eyes of ordinary men."

Johann's lips turned up in a smirk slightly, "exactly." He closed the box and didn't hesitate in his next order, "give the order to open fire."

"Jawohl!" The Lieutenant did as she and guided the soldiers out.

Just as the Hydra soldiers were leaving the old man shook slightly in fear and exasperation. "Fool!" The older man shouted, "you cannot control the power you hold. You will burn!"

"I already have." Johann then shot the man which effectively killed him and splattered his Hydra pin with dark blood.

* * *

The fair was bustling and bright as many people ran around from exhibit to exhibit. Of course, everyone crowded around Howard Stark himself to see what he had to show. And although it was a place for people to have fun and forget about the stress of life, there was also a recruitment building. Despite the fact that people may have wanted to focus on the good aspects of life, there was still a war raging on across the ocean. They needed to get men to join the army from anywhere.

One man who desperately wanted to join the army stood up to the picture of a soldier and found that he was too short for his face to appear in it. Steve Rogers, the man who seemed too frail and short to be in the army, sighed. His slight sadness was interrupted when his best friend, James "Bucky" Buchanan Barnes, came up from behind him. The tall soldier had a head of black hair on his head that was covered by his army uniform hat. His chiseled, handsome face was painted in exasperation that was directed towards his pale friend. "Come on. You're kind of missing the point of a double date. We're taking the girls dancing." Bucky tried to sway him though already knew that Steve would say no. That man could be as stubborn as a mule sometimes.

He had invited Steve to come along on a double date with him, Connie and her friend. Obviously, Steve wasn't exactly enjoying himself because his blonde date was not interested in him at all. Bucky figured that this would happen, but he just wanted to have his last night before he was sent out to the army to be fun. What better way to do that than with a couple of dames and his best friend. It hadn't gone that way.

Steve shook his head, "you go ahead. I'll catch up with you."

Bucky stared at his long-time friend in slight irritation and turned to him with a serious tone to his voice. "you're really gonna do this again?"

Steve shrugged his shoulder, "well, it's a fair. I'm gonna try my luck."

"As who?" Bucky scoffed, "Steve from Ohio? They'll catch you. Or worse, they'll actually take you."

Steve shook his head, "look, I know you don't think I can do this."

"This isn't a back alley, Steve. It's war!" Of course, Bucky was referring to earlier that day when Steve had ended up in an alleyway with some moronic bully beating him up. Sometimes, Bucky honestly thinks that Steve likes being punched.

"I know it's a war." Steve said, "you don't have to tell me."

"Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs."

As the men argued, the brunette woman who had followed them inside watched them with calculating, wide hazel eyes. Her light pink lips were pulled up in a small smile as she observed the men. More specifically, she watched the short blond who seemed to be passionate about joining the army.

Steve was completely annoyed with Bucky, "what am I gonna do? Collect scrap metal…"

"Yes!" Bucky exclaimed.

"…in my little red wagon."

Bucky shook his head, "Why not?" He didn't want his friend to be a soldier in this war. If that wasn't obvious already. He understood that Steve wasn't someone to take something without a fight and would stand up for anything, even if he had so many medical problems. He couldn't deny that he admired that about Steve, however, Bucky just had a feeling that his spirit was going to get him killed one day.

Steve continued, "I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky."

"I don't…"

"Bucky, come on!" Bucky was quiet for a moment as he allowed Steve to continue on passionately, "there are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand. This isn't about me."

Bucky couldn't help himself but scoff, "right. Cause you got nothing to prove."

"Hey, Sarge!" Connie, one of the girls that Bucky had invited for a double-date with him and Steve, shouted as they waited outside the recruitment building. "Are we going dancing?"

Bucky nodded his head and smiled widely at them with his pearly white teeth, "Yes, we are." He turned back to Steve and knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere with him. He sighed in resignation and started to back away from his friend, "Don't do anything stupid until I get back."

Steve laughed now that he knew Bucky wasn't going to try to stop him anymore. "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you."

Bucky walked back over to him as the brother-like friends embraced in a tight, quick hug. "You're a punk."

"Jerk. Be careful." Steve watched his friend go, "don't win the war till I get there!"

Bucky shakes his head and saluted to Steve before walking away and flashing the girls that they had brought with them a charming smile, "come on girls. They're playing our song." Steve watched as the suave soldier waltzed up to the two lovely girls to give them a good time. He knew that his absence wouldn't really hinder their fun.

"You are very brave."

Steve jumped, startled, and spun around to face the speaker with such a honey lathered voice behind him. He came face to face with a woman. She was a tad bit taller than him which was obviously no surprise. Just about everyone was taller than him, even kids. Her shiny brunette hair rested on her shoulders freely and, to him, there appeared to be a glowing, golden halo encasing her entire body. The man was overwhelmed by her appearance. "E-excuse me?"

"I am sorry," the woman apologized as she stepped closer to the shorter man. "I did not mean to intrude on your conversation… I know it was rude of me to do so. "

It took Steve a moment to comprehend that the woman was talking directly to him. He gulped, "it's alright, ma'am."

She smiled slightly and brushed some of her chestnut hair behind her ear. "It is just… I find what you said quite admirable."

Steve nodded his head in disbelief, "thank you…"

"Delphia," her angelic voice told him, "my name is Delphia" She introduced herself with a small, charming smile that nearly had Steve melting into a puddle on the ground. "And there is no need to thank me for your actions…"

Steve began to stutter as he became flustered. It wasn't every day that a beautiful dame such as the one standing in front of him wanted to know his name. "Rogers, Steve. I mean, Steve Rogers." He took a gulp of air as he calmed himself down enough to understand what he was trying to say and not embarrass himself further. "My name is Steve Rogers."

The beautiful brunette woman standing in front of him giggled. To him, her soft laughter sounded like the tinkling of a small bell which was pleasant to hear. She flashed him another one of her wide, white-toothed smiles. "Well, it was lovely to meet you, Steve Rogers."

Steve continued to stare at the alluring woman a moment longer as he tried to collect himself. He completely forgot how to respond. What were words? Oh, right. "S-same to you, Delphia."

Delphia nodded her head respectfully and spun on her heels to head over to the man waiting for her slightly further into the building. Steve watched her go with lingering eyes as the golden shine followed her as well. God, he had never seen someone as beautiful as her. He was finally able to pull himself from his thoughts slightly before stumbling into the building to enlist himself for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

In the shadows, Dr. Abraham Erskine and Delphia watched with calculating stares as the skinny man walks into the building to enlist. It was surprising to see a man of his stature so willing to fight in the war. Though that may be why he had grabbed their attention.

"Do you think he's the right man?" Abraham asked Delphia and turned to her. She had yet to tear her eyes from the retreating figure of the stubborn man who refused to sit around and not fight for his country.

"He has such an aura of respect and humility…" She said absentmindedly before noticing that she was still looking after him. She cleared her throat slightly and looked at the old man with a small smile, "it would be stupid of us to not consider him for the experiment."

The old man nodded his head as he offered his arm to the brunette. "Well, I suppose it's time we test our possible subject." Delphia took his arm and the two walked into the enlistment building together to give Steve Rogers the chance to change the war.

* * *

Steve sat on an examination table as a military doctor looked over some paperwork. Steve's nerves were high at the moment. This was the sixth time he had tried to enlist and he had a feeling that his lies were going to catch up to him. Though since he hadn't been caught yet, things would be no different this time Just as he thought that things would go according to plan, a nurse walked through and whispered something to the doctor.

The Doctor turned to him, "Wait here."

"Is there a problem?" Steve asked apprehensively.

"Just wait here." The doctor then exited the small space and closed the curtain.

Growing anxious at the prospect of getting caught for lying on his application, Steve hopped down and started to pull his shoes back on. Steve was willing to do just about anything to get into the army. However, if he was caught lying he would be imprisoned. If that were to happen there was no way that Steve would ever get to serve his country. As his worry started to increase, a soldier walked through the curtain. The large soldier stood rigid and menacing which caused the smaller man's heart to scream in panic.

Suddenly a man then walked into the small space. He had round glasses, grey hair and was dressed in a brown suit. And to Steve's surprise, the woman that he had spoken to earlier followed after the older man. "Thank you." The man waved off the soldier as Delphia smiled at Steve brightly. "So, you want to go overseas. Kill some Nazis."

Steve was completely confused. Had he been found out? "Excuse me?"

"Dr. Abraham Erskine." The older man introduced himself and then gestured to the beautiful woman standing next to him, it was the same woman who Steve had talked to outside. "And my assistant, Delphia. I believe you two already met." She flashed him another one of her heart-melting smiles. "We represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve."

"Steve Rogers." He shook Abraham's offered hand and smiled bashfully at Delphia. Though he couldn't help but notice something about the both of them. Their accents. Abraham's was no doubt German which did not cause any alarm for Steve. If Abraham was a threat then he certainly wouldn't be anywhere near this place. Delphia was also not American. Steve was too enraptured by her beauty early to really comment on it, but he did notice that she sounded British. Well, the British are allied with American and fighting in the war against the Nazis so it shouldn't hard to understand why she was here. "Where are you from?"

"Queens." Abraham instantly replied as he looked over the files about Steve, "the both of us. 73rd Street and Utopia Parkway. Before that, Germany." He gazed up at Steve over his circular glasses. "This troubles you?"

"No."

Abraham nodded his head and continued to look at the file. "Where are you from, Mr. Rogers? Mmm? Is it New Haven? Or Paramus? Five exams in five different cities."

Steve started to panic slightly as he realized that it is about his lies in his applications. "That might not be the right file."

"No, it's not the exams we're interested in," Delphia said softly with her eyes shining in understanding. "It's the five tries."

"You didn't answer my question." Abraham continued for her, "Do you want to kill Nazis?"

The frail man tilted his head in confusion, "Is this a test?"

"Yes."

Steve took a deep breath while he tried to come up with the right words. "I don't wanna kill anyone. I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from."

Abraham and Delphia shared a glance and seemed to have a silent conversation before the older man turned to Steve. "Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war. Maybe what we need now is the little guy, huh? I can offer you a chance." The trio then exited the small room, "Only a chance."

"I'll take it." Relief washed over Steve now that he knew he wasn't going to be punished for his lying and instead actually be enlisted.

The grey-haired doctor smiled at the younger man's enthusiasm, "Good. So where is the little guy from, actually?"

"Brooklyn."

Abraham then handed Steve his file with a large smile and optimism in his eyes. "Congratulations, soldier."

The frail man opened his file and stared at the 1A stamp on his application. He couldn't deny the fact that he was giddy now that he was officially apart of the US army. Of course, there was also that slight fear of going into combat, but it was something that Steve could deal with.

He was broken out of his thoughts by the angelic voice he was starting to love. "Good-bye, Steve," the brunette woman said with a wide smile as she followed after the doctor. Steve was left behind with butterflies in his stomach, from the fact that he had finally been accepted and the sweet smile the angel had flashed him. Things were certainly starting to look up for Steve Rogers.

* * *

**A/N: Aw! Delphia and Steve finally met! I know this chapter was a tad bit short and now that I'm actually working on writing scenes from the actual movie, some chapters are going to be shorter than others. This means that I'll have an easier time writing them and actually getting them done on time. **

**Also(Self-promotion incoming), I'm working on my own novel and hope to have it published in April. I have an Instagram: the_ and a Twitter: The_Others_nkhs for it. I'm hoping to post updates on the process soon along with some art and such for my novel. Check it out!**

**Until the next chapter my lovely readers!**


	4. Training

**A/N: Wow, I actually finished this chapter. I've had it like halfway done for a long time and thought I could get it done today. And look at that, I did! I know there are a few people who want me to try and get Ups and Downs(the sequel to my Harry Potter story if you didn't know) finished and posted soon. I've been working on it for a long time and I'm trying to make sure that it's better than the story before it. Which takes time. I want to try and make sure that the storyline for it is concrete and makes sense. Plus, I have big plans for The Animagus Chronicles, which includes writing stories for the rest of the Harry Potter stories. So I'm making sure that everything is just how I need it to be. Besides, the first chapter should be up sometime next week, since I don't have any new school assignments to do at all this week! Now, I hope that this chapter is okay! Enjoy!**

* * *

**IN THE ISOLATED REACHES OF THE ALPS** mountains, Hydra's base was filled with hundreds of soldiers running around trying to please their leader, Johann Schmit. The dreaded man who had made it his life's purpose to locate what he considered the end most powerful object that could end the war and ensure his victory. The Tesseract. Of course, he was able to find it eventually. After having to deal with an uncooperative princess and the betrayal of his last lead scientist, it made it even more satisfying to have the glowing cub within his possession.

He marched into one of the rooms that had many different machines decorating it. "Are you ready, Dr. Zola?"

"My machine requires the most delicate calibration." The stocky, balding scientist said to his superior while looking over his machine. The man, Dr. Arnim Zola, was the newest lead scientist for HYDRA. After Dr. Abraham Erskine had escaped with Princess Delphia, Johann had been furious. He instantly searched for the next best scientist who he could have complete control over. He certainly didn't want to have a repeat of his previous failure. "Forgive me if I seem overcautious."

Johann looked over some of the research that they had gathered about his most prized possession. He addressed the scientist with a drawl, "And are you certain that those conductors of yours can withstand the energy surge long enough for a transference?"

"With this artifact, I am certain of nothing." Dr. Zola turned to face his superior. "I fear it may not work at all."

Johann pulled out the box that he had acquired from Norway. He and Dr. Zola stared at it as he opened it up to allow the brilliant blue light of the Tesseract to pour out of it. The two were mesmerized by the cube and transfixed on it for a moment as Johann pick the cub up with a claw and placed it in the machine.

Dr. Zola turned the machine on, "Twenty percent. Forty. Sixty. Stabilizing at 70%."

Johann marched over to Zola and pushed him out of the way to take control. "I have not come all this way for safety, Doctor." Unlike Zola who had some restraint and common sense to make sure that the Tesseract was kept at a safe power level, Johann turned everything up to the maximum.

Bold blue lightning started to seep through the machine as well as the room which caused the two men to back up in slight fear. Something close to a distorted scream echoed in the room before the machine appeared to short circuit.

"What is that?" The short doctor asked in awe and slight fear once things became calm again.

Johann caught sight of the machine that his scientist was able to build and turned the man towards it. "I must congratulate you, Arnim." They had successfully collected the power from the Tesseract just like they wanted. "Your designs do not disappoint. Though they may require some slight reinforcement."

Excitement started to bubble up in the short man who stared at his creation. "The exchange is stable. Amazing! The energy we have just collected could power my design, all my designs. This will change the war."

Johann shook his head at his words. "Dr. Zola, this will change the world."

* * *

"Margret Carter?" A soft voice asked over the orders that were barked out around the army training camp.

The blonde woman who spoke elegantly glided through one of the offices of the camp. Each step she took in her flats drew the attention of every man who was trying to do their work. Her beauty was proving to be a large distraction to everyone, though it wasn't like they were complaining.

A brunette woman turned around at the sound of her name. Agent Carter, a spit-fire of a woman, raised an eyebrow as she turned to the other woman. "Yes?"

Delphia smiled kindly, "I am Delphia, Dr. Erskine's assistant. He told me that I would be looking over the new cadets with you."

"Oh," her ruby lips pulled up in a small smile as they shook hands, "yes, I remember." The princess nodded her head and gestured behind her to head out. Peggy followed her as the two walked out of the office and into the hallway. "I'm glad that there's another woman around to deal with these men."

Delphia agreed, "Oh, yes. I am as well, I do not think I would be able to handle being one of the only ones."

The two of them chuckled together as they started to make their way out of the building. It was a good thing that another woman was around for each of them. There were a few women, but they were mainly the nurses who looked after the injured but even then there weren't even a dozen of them.

However, after Delphia was told that there was going to be another woman looking over the cadets, she was overjoyed. Not only has she been cooped up in her quarters for a while, but she hasn't had a woman to talk to in quite some time. She could already tell that she and Peggy were going to be the best of friends.

Delphia flashed her a dazzling smile, "Now, shall we go meet the boys?"

* * *

A line of uniform-clad men mingled together as they waited to be addressed by a superior. Among them, Steve Rogers waited patiently and silently. He was not like the other men who were large, buff, and tall, obviously. He was dwarfed by them due to his

"Recruits, attention!" The British woman shouted which certainly got all of the men's attention effectively. Peggy and Delphia approached the line of men and surveyed them with critical eyes. However, Delphia was a tad bit more curious than Peggy was. After all, this was one of the first times that she was actually seeing what a Midgardian army really looked like. She has seen what the Asgardian army is like along with how the warriors fought. That was mainly due to her friendship with Sif and the warrior three along with Thor's insistence about teaching her some fighting tactics. "Gentlemen, I'm Agent Carter. This is Delphia. We supervise all operations for this division."

"What's with the accent, Queen Victoria?" One of the soldiers decided to ask. "Thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army."

Peggy and Delphia shared a glance with each other and seemed to have a silent conversation. "What is your name?" Delphia asked him sweetly.

He faltered for a second at her striking beauty before his smirk consumed his entire face. "Gilmore Hodge, your Majesty."

Peggy walked towards the line and nearly scowled at him, "Step forward, Hodge." He did as told with a smug smile. As she stood a few feet behind Peggy, Delphia knew that she did not like this man at all. "Put your right foot forward."

"Mmm…" He hummed smugly, "We gonna wrassle? Cause I got a few moves I know you'll like."

He didn't get to even get to chuckle at his innuendo before Peggy punched him in the face. The other men snickered at Hodge's unluckiness. It wasn't every day that you met a woman as feisty as Peggy Carter, and she was certainly going to make it known to all that she wouldn't be messed with. Delphia snickered from behind her hand. She didn't usually like violence but she was certainly amused by the scene in front of her.

"Agent Carter." A man called as he climbed out of a truck and approached the collection of soldiers.

"Colonel Phillips." The two women chimed and turned to their superior.

"I see you're breaking in the candidates. That's good!" He nodded his head at the other woman who returned the gesture. "Delphia." He then looked down at the soldier who had been punched. "Get your ass up out of that dirt and stand in that line at attention 'til somebody comes tells you what to do."

Gilmore sniffed as blood started to come out of his nose. With his pride wounded and after being put in his place, he nodded his head, "Yes, sir."

The Colonel started as he walked up the line of fresh meat and assessed them with a critical eye. "General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons but they are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best men…" He paused when he came to the scrawny Steve Rogers. He shared a look with Abraham who just raised an eyebrow. The colonel swallowed thickly and continued, "And because they're gonna get better. Much better. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man. At the end of this week we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldiers. And they, will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of Hell."

* * *

Weeks started to go by. Days blurred together as the new cadets continued with their training. The cadets went through their basic training which included a few different obstacle courses. Though throughout this time, some of the soldiers decided to pick on Steve as much as they wanted. Laughing at him when he failed certain tasks or making sure that he was trapped underneath some barbed wire, which he currently was.

"Rogers!" Sergeant Duffy shouted in frustration as she stormed over to the course, "Get that rifle out of the mud!"

Delphia watched from the sideline as the scrawny man was reprimanded and pulled out from underneath the wire. She sighed heavily and put her journal down. The way they treated Steve was dishonorable, she thought. Every man deserved a chance to prove himself, and she believed Steve has done that plenty of times. Despite being smaller and a sickly, he still tried to keep up with the others. Didn't that deserve at least a little bit of respect?

Yet the others still looked down on him for his small stature and obvious physical disabilities. She hated that. Delphia hasn't seen this before, most likely due to her not being around armies that much besides with her brothers and friends. The princess knew that there were people like this, bullies, but she hoped that these men would be better than this.

She turned to Peggy, "I am going to check on Steven." Peggy gave her a knowing smirk and nodded her head as Delphia walked off without barely giving her a second look. If the agent didn't know any better, she would say that her new friend was more attached to the man than she might believe. However, Peggy would keep her mouth shut for now.

Delphia walked over to Steve as he tried to readjust his uniform and check if he had gotten cut. He found that he did have minor scratches on the side of his face and hands. Steve would need to get those cleaned up soon.

"Steven," the angelic voice that he had come to love spoke. The soldier turned to find Delphia walking over to him. Despite having to wear a similar outfit to Peggy, a standard uniform for the woman, he still thought that she was breathtaking. Honestly, she would look beautiful in anything. "I think I should take you to get your injuries looked at, yes?"

Steve spared Sargent Duffy a glance who nodded his head begrudgingly to the agreement. With a toothy-white smile likes hers, it was hard to say no to her. Delphia then leads Steve away from the muddy obstacle course as they tried to get back to either the infirmary or the barracks. The soldier shook his head, "y-you don't have to-"

Delphia pursed her lips, "nonsense. It is my duty to look after you, after all." This was included in her job, yes? Making sure that Steve was looked after and cared for. After all, they couldn't have their test subject hurt before the actual experiment, that's what she justified her actions with. Steve could have gone to get checked up on his own, or even continued on with his training, but Delphia knew she had to step in. Not only to get Steve as far away from those _bullies_ but also to ensure that he was alright.

The two walked over to the infirmary building and idly chatted with each other. Over the course of the few weeks that they've known each other, the two had become relatively good friends. Then again, Delphia was friends with just about everyone she met. Though there was no doubt that she was closest to Abraham, Peggy, and Steve. Though she seemed to be Steve's only friend at the base, seeing as most people looked down on him. Honestly, he was grateful for Delphia... and Abraham of course, he couldn't forget about him. They were the reason that he was given this change, after all.

"Ah, there you two are!" A bubbly woman dressed in a nurse's outfit said as they came into the infirmary. A small number of soldiers with sprains and small cuts sat on some beds that were around the room. The nurse who approached them smiled widely at the two. Her wavy red hair swayed around her shoulders like a river as she ushered them over to one of the beds with enthusiasm. Her eyes, which were a swirling shade of hazel, gleamed in a knowing way as she maneuvered Steve onto one of the beds and started to look him over. "Now, then, a few cuts will be easy to fix!"

The princess stared at the nurse in confusion. She had never seen this woman before, and Delphia was certain that she knew just about every woman in the camp. Then again she could be someone new and just started working here recently. However, there was something in the way that the red-haired woman stared at both her and Steve with that was... strange. "What is your name, miss?"

The woman's smile seemed to grow even wider as she stared at Delphia with a spark of admiration in her eyes. "Jennifer, ma'am. But that's not important! I suspect you want to look over Mr. Rogers." Delphia nodded her head slowly with a raised eyebrow. Wasn't the nurse suppose to be the one to do this? "Awesome! You do that, you know, take care of him, 'cause that's what you do, what you always do. Nice to meet you two!" The nurse rambled out without taking a breath before grabbing some supplies and handing them to Delphia. The redhead then hopped away and left Steve and Delphia by themselves.

Steve watched the weird woman go with furrowed eyebrows, "that was a little..."

"Odd?" Delphia giggled as she started to use the supplies that Jennifer had given her to fix up the cuts on Steve's cheek. The man hissed slightly when she pressed a cotton ball covered in alcohol to a cut, which she quickly apologized for. She made quick work with cleaning up Steve and making sure that the cuts that were worse than the others were bandaged up. Her movements were graceful and it was quite obvious that she was used to having to do this.

"You're pretty good at this, huh?" Steve asked as she put the supplies down.

"Yes," Delphia nodded her head, "my brothers and friends have a tendency to get injuries, you see. It only makes scenes that I learned how to heal them when they got hurt."

She reminisced for a minute as she remembered the many times that she has had to heal either Thor or Loki(Mostly Thor) after a battle or stitch up Sif or the warrior three. Though Delphia was quite certain that the only reason Fandral wanted to be healed by her was to try and charm her in some way. That man could not just give up, no matter how much she persisted she was not interested. A bittersweet smile came to her lips. She missed them, she missed them all terribly.

She longed to see her home again after so long. Delphia wanted to see her glittering palace once again, wanted to laugh with her friends, and stop any fights that may come between Thor and Loki. After nearly over two years, Delphia was thoroughly homesick.

Steve frowned slightly as he saw the look in her eyes. With quite a bit of hesitation, he placed a hand on her arm to try and comfort her. He didn't know much about her life, admittedly. They have grown close, yes. However, Delphia was, surprisingly, a secretive woman. She kept to herself most of the time and hadn't divulged much of her past to him. Though it's not like he needed to know about her home, and it was obviously a bit painful for her to talk about. So he left it alone, for now.

Delphia cleared her throat, "shall we head back to your training, Steven?"

The soldier nodded his head before jumping off of the bed, "yeah, I guess." They walked out of the infirmary building and didn't even notice the hazel eyes following after them as Jennifer started to scribble in a small black journal she held in her hands. An enthusiastic smile on her lips as she watched the pair leave.

* * *

"Pick up the pace, ladies!" Sergeant Duffy shouted as he jogged alongside the cadets. At the back of the pack, Steve did his best to try and keep up with them. Though he certainly wouldn't give up during this training exercise. He had to prove to everyone that he was just as capable as the other men. Just because he was a scrawnier man didn't mean he was much less of a soldier. "Let's go! Double time! Come on! Faster! Faster! Move! Move!" He shouted at them as they approached a flagpole. "Squad, halt!" They all came to a stop as Steve was grateful for the small break. He leaned against his knees and tried to catch his breath. Seargent Duffy pointed at the flagpole. "That flag means we're only at the halfway point. First man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Carter. Move, move!"

All of the men, sans Steve, jumped towards the pole and started to fight each other to get to it. "Come on! Get up there!" They fought and pushed against each other to be the one to get it. After all, who wouldn't like to take a break from all this running and get to take a ride with a pair of lovely ladies?

"If that's all you got, this army's in trouble! Get up there, Hodge! Come on! Get up there! Nobody's got that flag in 17 years! Now fall back into line! Come on, fall in! Let's go! Get back into formation!" In defeat, all of the men listened and fell back into their previous formation, except for scrawny Steve. "Rogers! I said fall in!" Steve still ignored him and leaned down to pull the pin out from the bottom of the pole. To everyone's astonishment, the pole tilted and fell to the ground.

Without gloating or boasting about his out of the box thinking, Steve simply walked up to the fallen flag and unclipped it. He picked it up and rolled it into his hands before handing it to Sergeant Duffy. "Thank you, sir." He climbed into the car next to Delphia and smiled tiredly at her which was reciprocated. The brunette woman turned down to her small leather-bound book to write something in her neat handwriting as the jeep drove off.

* * *

Later on, the group of cadets was doing push-ups as Peggy shouted at them. They all panted heavily as they did their best to keep up with her commands. "Faster, ladies! Come on. My grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul. Move it!" The only one who was unable to keep up was Steve. Though he didn't give up, not at all.

Chester Phillips walked alongside Abraham as they approached the group of cadets. "You're not really thinking about picking Rogers, are you?"

He had been going on and on about allowing Steve into the army. The skinny kid couldn't do what the other could. With no strength to speak for, the Colonel thought that he wasn't the right pick for the program.

Abraham sighed, "I am more than just thinking about it. He is the clear choice."

"When you brought a ninety-pound asthmatic onto my army base, I let it slide. I thought, what the hell? Maybe he'll be useful to you, like a gerbil. I never thought you'd pick him."

The two of them came to stand next to Delphia as she wrote down some observations in her small journal. She smiled at the two in greeting.

"Up," Peggy ordered the men as they began to do jumping jacks.

"You stick a needle in that kid's arm and it's gonna go right through him."

"Come on, girls," Peggy said as the men continued their exercises which drew their attention to a struggling Steve.

"Look at that." Chester pointed at the small man, "He's making me cry."

Abraham shook his head at the colonel's words, "I am looking for qualities beyond the physical."

Chester was obviously frustrated with the situation and sighed heavily, "Do you know how long it took to set up this project?"

"Yeah, I know."

"All the groveling I had to do in front of Senator What's-His-Name's committees?"

"Brandt. Yes, I know." He nodded his head, "I am well aware of your efforts."

"Then throw me a bone." The Colonel begged and gestured to one of the men who were far bigger than Steve, "Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast, he obeys orders. He's a soldier."

"He's a bully." Delphia turned from her writing and chimed in with her nose scrunched up in distaste.

"You don't win wars with niceness, ma'am." He sneered before turning to the boxes behind them. He pulled out a dummy grenade which caused Delphia to flinch slightly. "You win war with guts." He pulled the pin and threw it into the group of training soldiers, "Grenade!"

Everyone jumped away from the weapon in fear. They ducked and ran for cover to try and keep themselves alive. Though one man did not run. Instead, skinny, little Steve Rogers jumped into action and places himself right on top of the explosive.

"Get away!" The brave man shouted and waved away everyone else, "Get back!"

A few more seconds of tense silence passed before everyone let out a sigh of relief once they realized that there wasn't any real threat. "It was a dummy grenade." An officer called, "All clear. Back in formation."

Steve looked up stunned at Colonel Phillips, Delphia, and Abraham with wide eyes. "Is this is a test?"

The doctor smugly looked at Phillips who sulked. Delphia couldn't help herself but giggle at the colonel's failed attempt to prove them wrong. Steve was the right choice, not Hodge. She smiled sweetly at the stunned soldier which caused him to become flustered.

"He's still skinny," Phillips scowled before stomping off.

* * *

**A/N: Aw, I think Delphia and Steve are adorable! We're actually finally getting into more of the movie so I can't wait to write some of the bigger plot points that are in it. I mean how's she going to help Steve when he decides to go save Bucky? How will Hydra try to get her back? And who the hell is Jennifer? Hmmmm... until the next chapter, my friends!**


	5. The Past and Future

**A/N: I finally got around to writing this chapter. It's been like, what? Over a month since I updated this. Oops. Sorry about that. I had finished this chapter the other day, but I read it over and realized that it was far too short. Like only six pages long. So I wanted to make it at least ten pages. Anyway, he's a chapter that's long overdue.**

* * *

**NIGHT HAD FALLEN ON THE ARMY BASE** and many of the men were currently winding down after a long day of training in the mess hall. One soldier, however, had decided to head to the barracks to avoid the others. Much like school children, the men never ceased to bother Steve during meals or while he tried to sleep. He ignored them, as much as he could. They were just like the others who picked on him back at home. So it wasn't anything new. Besides, that wasn't the only reason why he needed to be alone.

Tomorrow was the day.

The experiment that would be conducted on him was only hours away, and Steve was nervous. The procedure that was meant to turn him into a super-soldier was going to happen tomorrow! He didn't understand all the science that went behind it much, after all, he wasn't the smartest guy. Steve was no Howard Stark. However, he couldn't help but worry just a little bit.

Ever since he had been accepted into the army, Steve had put a lot of trust into Dr. Erskine. He didn't doubt that it wouldn't work, not as much as a few other people. However, there was still doubt about _why_ he had been chosen. There were plenty of other men who were far more physically talented than he was that would be perfect for the procedure. Steve was sick, he always has been. So what exactly did Dr. Erskine see in him? What did _Delphia_ see?

After being here for some time, Steve learned that Delphia had helped Abraham choose him as the subject for their experiment. He was unsure what exactly she could have seen from him after only speaking with him for a minute at the Stark Expo. Steve didn't understand why she even spoke to him in the first place! He was a meek little man who was surrounded by plenty of other strong soldiers who should have captured her attention. She could have spoken to a man who was taller than him, healthier than him, more handsome than him... But she chose him... _Why_?

There was a knocking at the entrance that brought Steve out of his thoughts. He turned away from the book that he had been staring at blankly to find Dr. Erskine entering the barracks. "May I?"

Steve cleared his throat, "Yeah."

"Can't sleep?" The older man asked as he walked into the room.

Steve shrugged his shoulders, "I got the jitters, I guess."

Abraham let out a small chuckle and sat down on the bed across from Steve. "Me, too."

They were quiet for a moment before Steve decided to spoke about what was on his mind. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Just one?" Abraham raised an eyebrow. He imagined that Steve would be a tad bit more curious about what was going to happen tomorrow. After all, if everything went according to plan, Steve's entire life would change.

"Why me?"

The older man was quiet for a moment as he came up with an answer. "I suppose that is the only question that matters." He took a deep breath and briefly glanced down at the bottle of schnapps he brought for them. "This is from Augsburg. My city. So many people forget that the first country that the Nazi's invaded was their own. You know, after the last war the… my people struggled. They… they felt weak. They felt small. And then Hitler comes along with the marching and the big show and the flags and the… and the…" He waved his hand as the memories of what had happened bombarded him. "And he… he hears of me, my work and he finds me. And he says, 'You.' He says, 'You will make us strong.' Well, I am not interested. So he sends the head of HYDRA, his research division. A brilliant scientist by the name of Johann Schmidt." The older man inwardly shivered at the thought of the mad man. "Now, Schmidt is a member of the inner circle and he's ambitious. He and Hitler share a passion for occult power and Teutonic myth. Hitler uses his fantasies to inspire his followers. But for Schmidt, it is not fantasy. For him, it is real. He has become convinced that there is a great power hidden in the earth, left here by the Gods, waiting to be seized by a superior man. So when he hears about my formula and what it can do, he cannot resist. Schmidt must become that superior man."

For a while, Abraham had thought that it was nonsense. To believe in such myths as the tesseract and Norse gods being real was a silly thought. Though after seeing Delphia, bonding with her and hearing the stories of her home, he has come to believe, even a little bit, that such beings exist. After all, he has the Norse princess as his assistant.

Steve swallowed, "Did it make him stronger?"

"Yeah," Abraham breathed out. "But, there were other effects. The serum was not ready. But more important, the man. The serum amplifies everything that is inside. So, good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. This is why you were chosen." Steve stared at him with wide eyes. The chose him because of that? Because he was a good man? Abraham continued, "Because a strong man, who has known power all his life, will lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows compassion."

"Thanks." Steve's eyebrows furrowed. "I think." Abraham's words had brought some clarity to why he had been chosen. Though a part of him wanted to know what Delphia thought. Yes, Abraham says that the reason that _he _chose him was because of how the serum would affect him, but is that the reason why Delphia spoke with him? Was there any other reason why she would speak with him?

Abraham broke Steve out of his thoughts once again. He started to pour himself and Steve a drink from his bottle. "Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing." He sent Steve a meaningful look. An expression that was filled with seriousness and hope. "That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man."

Steve nodded his head in agreement. There wasn't anything that would ever change him, he believed. He was a good man like Abraham said. He was also a patriot to his country, there was nothing in the world that would ever make him turn against any of his morals. He raised his glass in a toast. "To the little guys."

They clinked glasses and were just about to take their mouthful before Abraham stopped him. "No! No! Wait! Wait!" He exclaimed before grabbing the glass from Steve. "What I am doing? No! You have a procedure tomorrow. No fluids."

"All right." The scrawny man chuckled as Abraham poured the alcohol into one cup for himself. "We'll drink it after."

"No!" Abraham said with a small scoff, "I don't have procedure tomorrow. Drink it after? Drink it now!" With that he downed his glass, to Steve's amusement.

"Abraham," Delphia called suddenly as she entered the room. She wore an ankle-length white dress that framed her figure quite well. It didn't seem to be the ideal outfit for an army base, however, Delphia didn't want to wear a uniform of any kind. She had argued that she wasn't apart of the army in any capacity so it made no sense for her to wear one like Peggy. "I have the files that you needed."

The older man finished off his drink and gestured for her to join them. "Ah, yes, yes. Thank you, my dear."

Delphia flashed Steve a small smile and walked over to the pair, "Hello, Steven."

Steve did his best to stop himself from flushing at her appearance. Even though the two have become closer and they both considered each other friends, Steve always became flustered at the sight of her. Though it was like that for most people. Her beautiful, wide smiles always brought a small brush of pink to people's cheeks. The aura around her always suffocated people in innocence and excitement. Her perfection was immeasurable.

"Hi, Delphia."

She sat down next to him on his bed and flashed him a questioning look, "nervous about tomorrow?"

He nodded his head, "yeah, just a bit."

Abraham cleared his throat and picked up the empty cups and his bottle of alcohol with the files. "Why don't I leave you two to talk," He tapped the file in his hand, "I must have a closer look at this."

The two of them bid the old doctor a goodbye as he headed out of the room and left the two alone. There was a moment of silence as the two settled themselves on Steve's bed to face each other. Delphia could easily see how nervous Steve was at the moment. He may try to play it off as nothing, but Delphia was easily able to read him after knowing him for some time.

"You appear to be a tad bit more nervous than you say."

Steve pursed his lips in slight embarrassment but nodded his head regardless. He didn't want to hide how he felt from her, they were good friends after all. "I'm just worried about what is going to happen tomorrow."

Delphia nodded her head and rested a comforting hand on his knee. "I may not know much about the science aspect of Abraham's experiment, however, I have faith in his abilities."

"I, uh, asked the doctor why he chose me," Steve started, "he said I'm a good man."

Delphia tilted her head, "you are."

He pursed her lips, "How can you know that?"

The woman took a moment to collect her thoughts on the subject. She knew that he was a hero, with an optimistic outlook on life filled with hope. Honestly, she had already seen what Steve would already become. She knew that the procedure who be a success based on the image that she had seen just before she left her home. Though she couldn't tell him that. She hadn't told Steve about her being a goddess, knowing that he most likely wouldn't believe her. Abraham had believed her origin, but that was only because he had seen what she was, how different she was from a Midgardian. Most people wouldn't believe something like this unless they witness it. Then again, most Midgardians were quite hardheaded even when shown the truth.

"Despite the fact that you are smaller than the men here," she finally came up with an explanation, "you have a far bigger heart. You know what it is like to be put down by bullies and how precious power can be." She looked away for a moment as a few unpleasant memories surfaced in her mind. "You won't abuse it, once you gain it, unlike most people."

"Like Schmidt." Delphia visibly shivered at the name. "You, uh, know about him?"

Delphia took a shuttered breath, "yes, sadly, I do."

Steve could see how it was bothering her quite a bit. He really didn't want to see her like that, distressed by something, and he was irritated with himself for making her feel like this. "I'm sorry for bringing it up-"

"It's alright," She breathed out, "I suppose you should know, I-I haven't told anyone besides Abraham."

"If you don't want to tell me, Delphia, you don't have to."

His consideration was appreciated, however, she _wanted_ to tell him. "I trust you, Steven. I trust you enough to know about this."

Steve nodded his head in understanding and happiness. Knowing that she was willing to tell him about something that upset her so much that not many other people know warmed his heart. He waited a moment for her to collect her thoughts before she started her explanation.

"A couple of years ago, I was found by Schmidt." She kept herself from shuttering once again at the mention of the monstrous man. "He took me to a H.Y.D.R.A. base and... experimented on me."

"Why?"

There was a moment of panic in Delphia. She couldn't tell him that she was from a completely different realm and not human. Not only that but she didn't want to have to retell what pain she had gone through just yet. "He believed that I could have helped him with the Tesseract. Of course, I was not going to do that..." Her hands started to shake slightly as she started to relive through what had happened. Seeing her distress, Steve rested a hand on her own shaking ones. She took a deep breath at his silent reassurance and squeezed her eyes shut, "he tried to _convince_ me to join him, saying that we could use the power together, to rule everyone like gods."

Steve could tell that what had happened to her was completely traumatizing. Though he admired the fact that she was willing to tell him about it. He had never experienced something as horrible as she had, but he empathized with her. She was a strong woman, he marveled.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly, "it's alright, Delphia. You're safe now."

"I know," Delphia breathed out as she calmed herself down.

There was a moment of silence between the two as they thought over what Delphia had decided to reveal to him. Of course, she didn't go into detail about what had happened to her and the exact reason why, but she just might, once she feels comfortable to.

Steve then thought of something, "What about your family, do they know about what happened?" He asked in concern.

A sad sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head. "No, I haven't been able to tell them... I'm unable to contact them at the moment. Hopefully, once the war ends, I might get to see them." Delphia couldn't help herself but cringe as the thought of Thor and Loki crossed her mind. "I can't imagine how my brothers will react to all of this."

"You have brothers?" Steve asked in curiosity. Delphia hadn't mentioned her family much. He knew the basic things about her family, like her having both of her parents and maybe siblings, but he didn't know that she specifically had brothers.

"I do." She lightened up while thinking of Thor and Loki," The both of them are complete trouble makers."

He was glad that he was able to lift her spirits just a little. "They must miss you."

"I am sure they do, as I miss them." There was a far off look in her eyes as a soft smile graced her lips.

"Are they fighting in the war?"

Delphia shook her head, "No, they are not. My eldest brother is too arrogant to be a soldier, I am afraid. My other brother… Well, he could never stand being ordered around. I have a feeling that they have been at each other's throats since I've been away."

She honestly couldn't imagine how things have been back in Asgard while she's been gone. Her mother and father must be having a bit of a tough time dealing with Loki and Thor. Delphia loves her brothers dearly, however, she knew that they could cause some trouble with each other. Loki always loves to play pranks on Thor that may be deemed cruel to an extent. While Thor loves to annoy Loki to the end of the earth which results in him getting a nasty prank pulled on him.

"Why's that?" Steve asked.

"My brothers are completely different from each other." She pursed her lips, "They do not get along that well."

Steve hummed. He was an only child himself so, he wasn't entirely sure what it was like to have a sibling. Though he could argue that Bucky was practically his brother since they've been best friends for quite some time. Though from what Bucky told him about having a sister, it wasn't always fun. "Except when you're around, right?"

Delphia considered it for a while and nodded her head, "I suppose. Why do you say that?"

"You've got this aura around you, I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders. "You always seem to calm people down."

"Oh, do I?" She blinked at him and considered what he said for a moment. She supposes that she was a buffer between her brothers. They didn't agree on many things, however, she knew that they agreed on protecting her. The brunette let out a sigh through her nose, "Well, I think you would like to head to bed now. You have an important day tomorrow, after all."

"Yeah, yes." Steve nodded and cleared his throat. "I guess so."

"Good night, Steven." She said softly and stood up from his bed and straightened out her dress.

"Night, Delphia." He breathed out and watched her glid across the floor and back outside.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Hydra base high in the mountains, a record echoed in Johann's office. Multiple lights blinded the disfigured man as he stood at his desk. Posing for a painter as the skittish artist did the best that he could with his depiction of their leader. He knew that if he didn't do a good enough job, he most likely would be killed.

Zola then entered the office with multiple folders and files in his hands. Though once he caught sight of his leader, Johann turned the bright lights off and allowed darkness to consume him. Though it greeted him like an old friend. Even his silhouette was just as terrifying as his appearance in the light. "Is there something in particular you need?"

Arnim cleared his throat, "I understand you found them."

"See for yourself." He said and motioned to the table where a few photos of Abraham sat. A few of them also had the brunette beauty that the had once held captive. In each and every one of them, Delphia had some semblance of a smile on her soft face. Arnim picked up one of them and laughed under his breath. Johann's eyes narrowed, though you couldn't see that through the darkness, "You disapprove."

"I just don't see why you need concern yourself." Arnim laughed nervously, "I can't imagine he will succeed." He glanced up at Johann and grew nervous at the silhouette of the red-headed man, "Again."

Johann sighed in obvious frustration, "His serum is the Allies' only defense against this power we now possess. If we take it away from them, then our victory is assured. Not only that, but we should be able to obtain our princess again."

Abraham did pose a threat to their cause because he was helping the Allied forces. If the serum did work, which it will, the US could create an army completely composed of super soldiers. That certainly would not be good for the German forces. Not only that, but who knew what sort of help their escaped princess was giving them. They knew that she must have some sort of ability much like the tesseract. If she gave any sort of help to the Allies, there was no telling what sort of trouble the Axis powers were in. The doctor nodded his head in understanding, "Shall I give the order?"

"It has been given."

The doctor nodded his head, "Good." With that, he turned to take his leave and deal with any other matters he needed to attend to.

"Dr. Zola," Johann called out to the scientist and turned on the light again to show the painting and also his disfigured appearance. "What do you think?"

There was a tense moment as Arnim stared at its terrifying depiction. The artist's shoulders were rigid as he waited for an answer. Finally, the short doctor said, "A masterpiece." The artist sighed softly at the statement, obviously in relief before continuing to paint as Arnim left.

* * *

Delphia sighed heavily as she rested on her cot. She was quite exhausted after talking with Steve about her time in H.Y.D.R.A. and her encounters with Schmidt. It was never a good thing to relive through her horrible time at the base. Though it felt like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders after she told Steve at least a little bit of what had happened to her.

The princess had nobody else to really talk with since she was away from her home. Her family was in a completely different realm which left her completely alone. It didn't help that she had a few trust issues with some Midgardians after her experience with H.Y.D.R.A. Thankfully, Delphia has a good intuition into who's a good person and who isn't. So she can tell to a certain degree after speaking with a person for a few minutes. Even feeling a person's aura would determine to her if she could trust them or not.

She settled down in her bed and got comfy under her sheets. The princess was ready to have a possible dreamless sleep or even a small nice dream of her home. However, she wasn't expecting to get a vision.

When dreaming, there was always a possibility of visions invading Delphia's minds. She was more likely to have a vision when she slept or when she meditates. The more violent ones she can have come upon her suddenly, most of the time. Those were always the worst. Since getting away from H.Y.D.R.A., she had been only having small visions while sleeping. Unimportant things like someone knocking over files from a desk or a soldier making a mistake during training.

Though once she closed her eyes, she was dragged into a vision. Tinted slightly white as she watched the scene play out in front of her. There were plenty of soldiers who were walking along the hall of an area that Delphia was quite familiar with. It was the secret facility where Abraham was to conduct his experiment on Steve. She had been there plenty of times to help with whatever the doctor had needed.

The secret doors opened up and in walked a trio of people. It was Steve, dressed in his beige uniform, Peggy, in her own green uniform, and Delphia, wearing a tasteful blue dress. Delphia watched herself and her friends walk down the hall earning the stares of the other soldiers. She followed after them and watched the hustle and bustle of the scientists getting the experiment ready while the politicians and military leaders settled in to watch. Peggy broke off into the room with the colonel while Delphia and Steve walked over to the capsule that would most likely change the war.

The völva watched it all with a small amount of interest. After all, she was going to witness this later. It was quite a big moment for everyone, and Delphia really didn't want to spoil what happened for herself. So she didn't pay close attention to it all.

The experiment continued on and eventually, Delphia watched as Steve's physical appearance had changed drastically. He was no longer small and skinny, instead, he had grown muscles and was over a foot taller than he was previously. It was extremely surprising to Delphia, and she couldn't pry her eyes off of him.

Steve was quite a cute man, she admitted. Ever since she first met him she was quite enthralled with him. Sure, most girls wouldn't find him attractive, but Delphia certainly wasn't like them. Not only that, but she enjoys his personality immensely. After all, she doesn't care about someone's looks and usually is attracted to someone based on their character. Though she was certainly having a hard time trying looking away from the transformed man who may slowly be capturing her heart.

Everyone celebrated the experiment's success and congratulated Abraham while they marveled at Steve. Delphia smiled along with it as she watches her future self hug Steve in celebration. Suddenly, an explosion threw everyone off of there feet. There was a flurry of people rushing for cover before a few shots rang out.

Before Delphia had come to Midgard, she had never heard of a gun. It was a foreign weapon that she had never seen until she was taken by H.Y.D.R.A. Though she came to despise them, no matter who used them. However, she had learned exactly what they sounded like. It also didn't help that she heard her own scream. Not only her that, but she saw herself and Abraham fall to the ground in a heap. Two splotches of blood started to pool in the man's chest while one bloomed on her shoulder.

The princess gasped out and sat up in her bed, after being let go from her vision. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she started to shake. She sobbed into her hands as the image still flashed in her mind. Her cries were quite loud, though she hoped slightly that people didn't hear her, she didn't want to have to explain what she saw. That was the future. A horrendous future that she would have to witness a second time. Just like the terrible vision that she had that made her decide to come to Midgard, she couldn't do anything. She couldn't do anything to save Abraham.

* * *

**A/N: Uh oh. You know, I hate having to do this to Delphia. Making her see this stuff... She really doesn't deserve it :( Being a seer must suck. **

**Quick question: What is your guy's opinion on crossover fanfiction. I've had a few ideas(and by a few I mean A LOT) for certain crossovers. I don't know if I should try to write them or not cause I don't know what you guys think of them. **

**Let me know what you akk thought of this chapter! Until the next one, my friends!**


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